


Take My Hand (Life Could Be Better Than This)

by Shadowscast



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Drug Addiction, Exploration of powers, Gen, Ghost Ben Hargreeves, Ghost David "Dave" Katz, Hurt/Comfort, Illness, Klaus Hargreeves Gets A Hug, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Klaus Hargreeves-centric, Klaus gets sober, M/M, Moral Dilemmas, Multi, Platonic Cuddling, Pre-Season/Series 01, Prostitution, Season/Series 02 Spoilers, Siblings Supporting Each Other, Sick Klaus Hargreeves, wibbly wobbly timey wimey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:01:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 161,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27055339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowscast/pseuds/Shadowscast
Summary: It's 2015.  Ben is dead, but he's doing his best to keep his brother alive.  It's not easy, when Klaus's first priority is to stay high all the time.In the midst of a particularly rough patch, the ghost of a soldier shows up claiming to know Klaus from the Vietnam War.  Weird, right?But as it turns out, a timely intervention by this dead soldier may just turn everything around—Klaus's relationship with his siblings, his relationship with his powers, and (does Ben even dare to hope?) his relationship with drugs.(What is this fic about, actually?  I'm going with: Klaus/Life enemies-to-lovers slowburn.)
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & David "Dave" Katz, Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, Klaus Hargreeves/David "Dave" Katz
Comments: 1551
Kudos: 989





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ~~I've decided to take the plunge and post this as a work in progress! The planned posting schedule is one chapter a week, updating every Friday.~~ **Update** 2021-01-01: I've finished the complete first draft! So from now on I plan to post _two_ chapters a week, on Mondays and Fridays.
> 
> Huge thanks to my wonderful beta reader [yourlibrarian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourlibrarian/pseuds/yourlibrarian), who stops me from writing ridiculous things that don't make sense and _also_ catches me whenever I accidentally put two spaces instead of one between words (she is so awesome!).
> 
> Also thanks to [ForestDivinity](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForestDivinity) from Elliott's House, who helped me come up with a title. (Titles are hard!)
> 
> Note: this story is set pre-S1 but nevertheless contains some S2 spoilers.
> 
>  **Trigger/content warnings:** In addition to what's mentioned in the tags, I'm warning for brief and non-explicit references to suicidal ideation (occurring at several places in the text) and references to past underage and non-consensual sex (occurring in chapter 31; there'll be another warning in the chapter notes there). If you aren't feeling safe, please reach out to someone. *hugs*

Ben died at seventeen without ever having been to a house party.

He suspects, though, that if he ever _had_ attended one while alive, it would have gone a lot like this.

Trailing his brother around. Ignored by everyone. Finding a book to read while Klaus gets high.

It's funny the way they work, books. He can only read them if they're near Klaus. Klaus doesn't have to be looking at them, or noticing them—Klaus can even be unconscious—but if the book is reasonably in Klaus's vicinity, Ben can pick it up and read it.

Well. Pick up a ghost-copy of it, somehow. The actual book stays put, on the coffee table under an ash tray. And yet it's also in Ben's hands, and he can turn the pages. _Twilight of the Idols_ by Nietzsche. Somebody in the house used to be a philosophy major.

"Have you ever climbed into a tree to just sit there looking out through the leaves, like you're in a palace, like you're a fucking queen?" the girl next to Klaus is saying. She accepts the joint Klaus hands her.

Klaus giggles, smoke spilling from his lips. "If I were the queen, I'd want bearskin rugs to dig my toes into. Silk sheets. Not a fucking treehouse."

The girl bats at him. "You have no _soul_."

Ben ignores the byplay. Stoned people are, by and large, boring.

He settles down for a comfortable read, while people come and go in the room. Klaus and the girl finish their joint and continue their conversation. Klaus flutters his hands as he talks, 'hello' and 'goodbye' injected into his sentences as nonsensical subtitles.

"Don't you think so, Benny-boy?" Klaus says at one point.

Ben looks up and sees Klaus gazing at him, expectantly.

"Hm?" he says. "I wasn't listening."

"Revolution is pointless. New oppressors will always rise to the top."

Ben shrugs. "Everything's pointless. You're all going to die anyway."

"There you go," Klaus said triumphantly to the girl. "He agrees with me."

As far as Ben can tell, it's not that Klaus _forgets_ that nobody else can see him. He just doesn't really care.

"Who are you talking to?" the girl frowns, her gaze skirting past the place where Ben is currently manifesting.

"His imaginary friend," contributes somebody nearby, who apparently knows Klaus better than the girl does.

"My ghost brother," Klaus specifies. "The nihilist. Hand to my heart, at this very moment he's dressed all in black and reading Nietzsche."

The girl perks up, like this is an interesting game. "Can I talk to him?"

Klaus gestures expansively. "Go ahead. He might not talk back, though. He hates parties."

Taking the direction of Klaus's attention as her cue, the girl turns nearly-accurately toward Ben. "How did you die?" she asks.

Ben scowls and looks back down at his book. Turns the page, even though he wasn't finished reading that one yet.

"Ooooooh, bad first question," Klaus says to the girl. "Now he's pissed off at you."

"Shit," the girl says, sounding mildly alarmed. "Is he going to give me bad luck?"

Klaus snickers. "He's not a black _cat_."

"I'm sorry," the girl says. Ben looks up again and sees her looking nearly straight at him. "I didn't mean to be rude. I guess maybe if I died, I wouldn't want to talk about it either. What's it like being dead? Are you cold?"

Ben feels a pang at this. For a moment, he's almost tempted to answer. The illusion is so powerful—that she's talking to him, that she knows he's there, that she's interested in getting to know him.

But he's not going to let himself fall for it. She's high, and feeling silly, and humoring Klaus.

" _Are_ you cold?" Klaus asks after a moment, giving Ben a quizzical look. "I don't think I ever thought to ask."

"No," Ben says, folding the book closed over his finger. Because now it's Klaus asking. "I'm never cold. Or hot. Just kind of ... perfectly room temperature, I guess. All the time."

"Oh," Klaus says, apparently pleased. "Good to know." He looks like he might have a follow-up question, but Ben never gets to hear it, because Eddie just showed up, and he's tapping Klaus's shoulder.

"You've got a date," Eddie says.

Eddie is Klaus's current pimp. The latest in a line going back seven years.

Klaus views the role of a pimp as something between an agent and a secretary: someone on whom he can offload the tedious tasks of finding tricks, setting prices, making sure he gets paid, and keeping track of his calendar. If Klaus isn't happy with a pimp, he'll fire them and go searching for a new one, or just freelance for a while.

Needless to say, not all of Klaus's pimps have envisioned the relationship working like that. There has been violence. Klaus has a scar on his chin from one incident; his scraggly beard mostly hides it.

And yet, Klaus usually gets away with it. Thanks partly to his ridiculous charisma, and partly to the fact that he's actually a pretty good fighter if he's not stoned off his feet, but thanks _mostly_ to the following fact: the first time a pimp tried to prolong the business relationship past the point where Klaus wanted out, Klaus managed to escape and go running to Diego.

Now Klaus's reputation precedes him. (As does Diego's.)

Anyway, Klaus clambers to his feet, stumbling against the coffee table and against Eddie. He waves a floppy goodbye to the treehouse girl with his 'hello' hand.

Regretfully, Ben sets the book down. He won't be able to carry it out of the room.

The client is waiting in a second-floor bedroom. He's tall, with salt-and-pepper hair and a fully gray five o'clock shadow. Puffy eyes.

Klaus gives the man a coy smile and gets inside his personal space immediately, fingers of one hand tracing the beard stubble while the other hand runs up the inner seam of the man's worn blue jeans.

Ben leans against the inside of the door and looks away.

He doesn't have to follow Klaus into these rooms. He's not constrained to haunt within a certain radius of Klaus; he could go anywhere.

And he certainly doesn't _want_ to watch his brother have sex.

But Klaus's dedication to his own survival is minimal. Ben is afraid to leave him alone for long, because he might never find him again. Klaus might not be there to be found.

Not that there's much Ben can _do_ to protect Klaus from the consequences of his lifestyle, his inattention, his addictions.

The best he can manage is a little externalized executive functioning. "Condom," he says out loud as a reminder, when it sounds like things are moving in a direction that would call for one.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Klaus calls back, exactly like if Mom had told him to wear a sweater because it was chilly out. And if he thought the sweater was ugly.

"I want to hear a wrapper crinkling," Ben insists. He's still staring at the wall, arms crossed.

"You know what?" the john is asking, meanwhile, confused.

"We are in need of a prophylactic," Klaus says. "Look in the bedside table."

A drawer opens, and a moment later there's the sound of a foil packet ripping open.

Ben relaxes a little.

* * *

Later, Klaus passes out on the living room floor, spooning with the treehouse girl. _Twilight of the Idols_ is still on the coffee table; Ben passes a contented night reading it.

* * *

By the time the dirty light of dawn starts bringing the world to life outside of the uncurtained windows, Klaus is sobering up.

Ben can tell, because there's a ghost in the room now.

The ghost's presence means both that Klaus's high is wearing off, and that he's awake, although he currently doesn't look it. Ben is the only ghost who can haunt Klaus when he's drugged or unconscious. He has no idea what makes him so special. It's just always been that way.

This ghost has scraggly blond hair, pallid skin, and raccoon eyes. She looks a lot like the treehouse girl, actually, and for one horrible moment Ben thinks the girl might have died in Klaus's arms overnight.

But no; the ghost's nose is pointier, her cheeks are more hollow, and anyway Ben can see the treehouse girl's ribs rising and falling with her slow sleeping breaths.

The ghost is wearing a ragged knit sweater with one sleeve rolled up, and a length of rubber tubing is tied around her arm. An overdose, then. Maybe she died right here on another night. Maybe she died elsewhere, and was drawn here by the party.

"I feel sick," she says. "I'm scared."

Klaus sits up, scrubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. He looks around, taking in the room. Besides him and the treehouse girl and the ghost (the two ghosts, counting Ben), there's a sturdy-looking frat boy type snoring on the couch and a goth chick curled up asleep on the armchair. "Sorry," Klaus says to the ghost. "Do you want a glass of water, or something?"

Shit.

So here's a thing: Klaus literally can't tell the difference between living people and ghosts.

Okay, that's overstating the case. He can tell by picking up clues from context. If somebody suddenly appears out of thin air in front of him, or walks through a wall: definitely a ghost. If the person has obviously lethal injuries and yet is walking around: almost certainly a ghost. If other people don't seem to see them: probably a ghost. If they just seem inexplicably out of place: possibly a ghost.

In this case the ghost was already there when Klaus opened his eyes, and she seems like a plausible guest at a party like this one. And everybody else is asleep; nobody's going to ask Klaus 'Who are you talking to?'

The difference between ghosts and the living is obvious to Ben, although he couldn't exactly explain how that works. It's like he has an extra sense that does nothing but detect the difference between 'spirit' and 'solid'. But whatever that sense is, Klaus doesn't have it.

"I'm dizzy," the ghost says to Klaus, voice trembling. "Please help me. Call my mom."

"I think there's a phone in the kitchen," Klaus says.

Ben is tempted, briefly, to just let this play out. Maybe Klaus won't even notice she's dead? If he doesn't notice, he won't be scared.

But no. Something will give it away, and it'll be ten times worse if Klaus has been interacting with her closely and _then_ finds out. Plus, he'll feel betrayed that Ben didn't warn him. It will damage their trust.

Ben is Klaus's spotter.

"Klaus, she's dead," he says.

Klaus's eyes widen, and dart from the OD'd ghost to Ben and back again. "Oh, fuck," he says. "You nearly got me, yes you did." He scrambles away from the dead girl, backwards crab-style.

"Please, I feel so sick," the girl wails, advancing on him. "Call my mom, pleeeeaaase."

Klaus gains some distance and starts frantically searching his pockets. Comes up empty. "Ben, what happened to the oxy I got from Sara?"

"Pretty sure you took the last of it on Thursday," Ben says.

The ghost catches up to Klaus again, pawing at him with insubstantial hands and wailing. Klaus lets out a strangled whimper and flees the room.

Ben follows, impotent.

Here's another funny way in which Ben is an exceptional ghost: he can see other ghosts.

They can't see him, or each other.

It's too bad, really. If other ghosts could see him, maybe he could have ghost-friends.

Or maybe, at least, he'd be able to intervene somehow when they were terrifying Klaus.

Life would be so different if Klaus weren't so haunted.

Klaus has gone into the bathroom and locked the door behind himself. The physical barrier stops neither the OD'd girl nor Ben.

Klaus is digging through the medicine cabinet behind the mirror. Ben can see right away that there's nothing in there stronger than Aspirin.

"Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me," Klaus is crooning to himself in a high-pitched sing-song. The ghost girl is sobbing now and poking her fingers through Klaus's cheek.

The cabinet under the sink is locked with a cheap padlock. It catches Klaus's attention. He picks the lock by jamming a metal nail file in and twisting.

"Klaus, this is a bad idea," Ben says, with not much hope of being listened to. The ghost girl, meanwhile, is curled up next to Klaus and wailing.

Klaus rifles through the clutter under the sink and pulls out a battered shoebox. He looks inside with a hopeful expression that turns into a yelp of joy.

Ben leans over his shoulder and sees what's in the box. And yeah, this couldn't be much worse: hypodermic needles, a scorched spoon, a bag of fine white powder.

"Oh hey," the ghost girl says, peering into the box and sniffling her tears away. "Will you share?"

Klaus pretends he didn't hear the girl, and looks around the bathroom. There's a half-melted candle on the toilet tank, a cherry-red BIC lighter lying next to it.

"Klaus, this is a _really_ bad idea," Ben says.

"Blah blah blah," Klaus counters, lighting the candle.

"Okay, for starters, you don't even know what that is."

"Technically, no," Klaus says. "But I know what it's _for_."

"Also, isn't this Eddie's girlfriend's house? Those drugs must be hers. Or her roommate's. Eddie'll be mad at you if you steal them."

"Whatever." Klaus tips some powder out onto the spoon. "He hasn't even paid me for last night yet."

Ben clenches his jaw, and squeezes the bridge of his nose. If ghosts could get tension headaches, he's pretty sure he'd have one.

Klaus is cooking the powder. It's bubbling into an amber liquid. When it looks clear, he sets the spoon carefully down on the toilet tank's lid, and turns back to the shoebox.

There are three hypodermic needles rattling around loose, and another one still sealed in a sterile plastic wrapper.

Following the path of least resistance, Klaus reaches for a loose one.

"Klaus!" Ben yells in a quick panic, waving his hand in front of his brother's face to demand his attention. "Use the clean one!"

"Right, right," Klaus sighs, and picks up the sealed one instead.

Ben settles back, adrenaline spike waning.

How can he have adrenaline? He's a ghost. Maybe it's just psychological.

So he can't stop his brother from breaking into a stranger's locked cupboard, stealing their mystery drug (probably heroin, but still), and injecting it into his veins. But at least he's probably managed to keep him HIV-free for another day.

It'll have to count as a win. It's the best Ben can manage.

The ghost girl watches Klaus inject the drug, a hungry expression on her face. A moment later, she flickers out of existence.

Klaus smiles and goes limp, sprawled on the grungy tile floor, knees akimbo.

Ben sighs, and sits on the edge of the tub.

* * *

Ben loves Klaus so much.

And he also kind of hates him.

Klaus drives him insane. He gives Ben phantom tension headaches, and phantom worry-ulcers.

And sometimes Klaus makes Ben laugh so hard that he forgets he's dead.

Basically, Klaus is Ben's everything.

Even when Ben was alive, it was Klaus that he was closest to. Klaus was the only sibling who understood what it was like to be terrified of your own superpower. To experience the power as an affliction, a curse.

And even when Ben was alive, he'd felt helpless to stop Klaus's downward spiral. At age fifteen he'd earnestly researched the long-term health effects of alcoholism. He'd presented his report to Klaus one night in the attic. Klaus had been drinking from a flask, and smoking out the open window.

"Oh my God, Ben," Klaus had laughed bleakly. He'd been wearing a deep burgundy lipstick, stolen from Allison. He kept it hidden in the attic next to the cigarettes. "You think I'm gonna live long enough to get cirrhosis of the liver?"

Two years later, it was Ben who was dead.

* * *

Klaus lies unconscious and undisturbed for a couple of hours. Ben keeps a vigil, watching him breathe.

One of these days, Klaus is going to die.

Technically it's inevitable. Everybody dies. But at twenty-six years old, Klaus should have a half-dozen decades stretching out in front of him. Statistically.

Ben is frankly amazed that Klaus has made it this far.

He's had eight overdoses serious enough to require emergency medical intervention. He's been stabbed twice. Had the shit beat out of him more times than Ben can count.

And somehow, he always comes out the other side laughing.

* * *

There's a banging at the bathroom door. Unsurprisingly, somebody wants access to the toilet.

More banging, swearing, threats. Silence for a while, and then knocking, banging, threats in a different voice.

"Klaus, get up," Ben says. "Somebody needs the bathroom." By long-ingrained habit he tries to shake Klaus's shoulder, but of course his hand just passes through.

Klaus doesn't stir.

Ben walks out through the door to check the situation.

Eddie is outside with a screwdriver, removing the doorknob. His eyes are bloodshot and his expression is grim.

Ben phases back into the bathroom. "Klaus, seriously, get up! Eddie's breaking in, and he looks really pissed off _already_."

Already, without having yet seen what Klaus did with the shoebox.

Anyway, it's useless. Klaus is unresponsive.

Suddenly there's a hole where the doorknob used to be, and then the door swings open.

Events proceed predictably.

Eddie takes in the situation, and loses his shit. He starts screaming at Klaus, and kicking him.

Ben is pretty sure that Eddie himself is high on something. Probably an upper, given his jerky movements and low frustration threshold.

Ben winces at every kick, but he doesn't make the rookie-ghost mistake of trying to shove Eddie away from Klaus. In the early days he would have, but now he understands the pointlessness. He stands in the tub, hands tucked in the pockets of his hoodie, digging his fingernails into his own palms and wondering if this is the day he sees his brother get murdered.

A couple more people run into the bathroom, presumably drawn by the noise. It's the treehouse girl and the frat boy. The girl grabs Eddie's arms and tries to pull him away from Klaus, yelling at Eddie. Eddie shakes her off, but then the frat boy grabs Eddie from behind and yanks him backwards.

Klaus's eyes slit open. There's a trickle of blood coming from his nose. "Oh, is it morning already?" he murmurs vaguely.

There's more shouting, a bloodless scuffle between Eddie and the frat boy, some pleas for calm by the treehouse girl, and finally Eddie hauls Klaus up by the armpits, maneuvers him through the house past the piles of empties and passed-out guests, and boots him out the front door.

"And fucking stay out of my life, or I swear to God I'll fucking kill you!"

The door slams.

Klaus makes it to the bottom of the stairs in a semi-controlled tumble. He comes to rest slouching on the concrete bottom-most step. He lowers his head to his knees.

"So, that went well," Ben says dryly.

"Worth it," Klaus mumbles into his own lap. "That was good shit. And I was tired of Eddie anyway."

"Can you walk?" Ben asks. "You probably shouldn't stay here. He might come out and take another shot at you."

Klaus groans elaborately, but pulls himself to his feet.

There's a small park one block over. Ben manages to direct Klaus there, coaxing each shambling footstep out of him individually.

The park has two benches. One of them is currently occupied by a ragged homeless woman, sleeping next to her shopping cart full of belongings. Klaus collapses onto the other one, tilts his head back, and passes out.

* * *

Klaus sleeps all day on the park bench. Ben passes a pleasant enough day sitting beside him, watching pigeons scratching in the dirt for bits of dropped food. It's late autumn; fallen leaves skitter along the ground with every gust of wind. And yet it's a warm, sunny day. Ben can't feel the warmth, but he sees the people walking by with their jackets slung over their arms.

He's glad that it's warm, for Klaus's sake. And he worries about the coming winter.

Winter is always hard. Klaus hasn't had a home of his own since he left the Umbrella Academy, and he never manages to remain welcome as a guest in anyone else's home for very long. He's great at finding new places to crash, but there are gaps, and during the gaps he sleeps rough, and in the winter that's bad.

Ben needs to remind Klaus to find a new coat. Unlike the homeless woman on the next bench over with her piled-high shopping cart, Klaus doesn't hold onto belongings. At any given time, all he owns is what he's wearing and what's in his pockets. He had a coat last winter. He ditched it in the spring.

Klaus wakes up at dusk with a shiver. "Where are we?" he asks.

"Pauli Murray Park," Ben says. There's a sign next to the sidewalk. "Around the corner from Eddie's girlfriend's place. Do you remember the party?"

In answer, Klaus just clutches at his chest and groans.

"You need something to eat," Ben says. "You haven't had anything since yesterday morning. Do you have any money?"

Klaus laughs. "Of course I don't have any money."

"And you need to find somewhere to sleep," Ben persists. "There's probably going to be frost tonight."

"Ummmm," Klaus says. "Can you think of anybody with a couch who isn't currently pissed off at me?"

"No," Ben admits.

"Ugh," Klaus says. "I am too sober to deal with this. Let's fix that first, and then I'll worry about food."

"Um, on a scale of one to ten—" Ben starts, about to contest Klaus's claim of sobriety.

But Klaus, as evidence, waves a hand at the ghost who's just appeared on the gravel path in front of them.

This isn't a ghost that Klaus is going to mistake for a person. For one thing, he did just appear out of thin air. For another, he's fully kitted out in green camouflage combat gear, and he has a gaping bloody wound in the center of his chest.

"Klaus!" the ghost says, looking shocked. And then delighted. "Oh my God, I can't believe I finally found you!"

Well, that's different.

Klaus squints at the ghost, briefly too puzzled to be freaked out.

"It's me, Dave!" the ghost says.

Klaus blinks owlishly. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

The ghost's broad grin drops away. "Shit," he says. "I'm too early, aren't I? You haven't met me yet."

"Ben," Klaus says, "Is this an actual ghost? Or am I just hallucinating?"

"I see him too," Ben confirms.

Dave-the-ghost, meanwhile, looks around blankly. "Who's Ben?"

Klaus flicks his hands at the ghost. "Shoo," he says. "Go away. I can't deal with this right now."

"Uh, yeah," the ghost says, taking an awkward step backwards. "Probably best if I go. For the moment."

"Huh," Klaus says. "That was unusually easy." And then he makes a move like he's going to stand up, but instead he clutches at his chest with a gasp of pain.

"Er," the ghost says, "Are you okay? I know this is a little ironic, coming from me, but—you don't look so good."

"Go!" Klaus yells, flinging out his 'good-bye' hand. "Get out of here!"

The ghost winces, turns, and walks away. He looks back over his shoulder a couple of times, but eventually rounds the corner of the block and vanishes from sight.

"That was weird," Ben says, staring off into space after the ghost.

Klaus wrinkles his nose. He's wrapped his arms tightly around his chest. "He was strangely courteous, wasn't he? And kind of confusing."

"Are you high?" interrupts the homeless woman from the next bench over. "Or crazy?"

Klaus gives her a gentle smile. "I'm not crazy. I just happen to have a lot of invisible acquaintances. And I'm not currently high, which is regrettable. I don't suppose you have anything that could help with that?"

The woman looks him over, shrugs, and rummages through her shopping cart a little. She comes up with a battered plastic 7-Up bottle half full of clear liquid. She totters over to Klaus's bench, sits next to him, and hands him the bottle. "I've seen angels a few times myself," she says.

Klaus unscrews the plastic cap, takes a sniff, and looks happy. He drinks, and passes the bottle to the woman. "Mine aren't angels," he says, and doesn't elaborate.

"It's a beautiful sunset," the woman says, nodding at the horizon. She takes a drink herself, and hands the bottle back to Klaus.

In the gap between buildings, the sky is a mottled salmon pink. "She's right, you know," Ben says softly. "It is beautiful."

Ben died nine years ago in pain and terror, and he still gets to sit next to his brother and watch the sun set.

No matter how rough the days are, he's grateful for every one.


	2. Chapter 2

Klaus spends the next few nights in a homeless shelter.

It's a desperation move. Klaus hates the shelter.

Ben is grateful to have him sleeping somewhere warm and eating a meal every day, but honestly seeing Klaus in the homeless shelter depresses him.

When he's couch-surfing, Klaus manages to come off as fey and eccentric. He takes care with his appearance, meticulously constructing his persona from begged and stolen clothes and makeup. He lights up when he talks. The fact that he talks to invisible people a lot comes off as an amusing quirk.

Here in the shelter, he's just one more broken crazy man lying on a cot and talking to himself.

During the days, he wanders the streets. He manages to score a few pills from a friendly acquaintance looking for a blow job, and rations them out carefully enough to stop himself from going into full withdrawal. He sweet-talks the old men at the shelter into giving him sips of their own carefully hoarded booze.

So overall he's staying high, but with gaps. And whenever it's been a little too long since the last pill, the last drink, the dead soldier shows up.

He keeps his distance, which is extremely unusual for a ghost. He'll put himself in a far corner of the room, out of Klaus's line of sight, and just quietly watch Klaus with a worried expression on his face.

Dave-the-dead-soldier can't see Ben, so a few times Ben has gotten up close and personal to try to figure out what's up. The guy looks like he died in his twenties. Tall, blond, good-looking. Gaping chest wound, as previously mentioned. Ben is no military historian; he can't pinpoint the war from the uniform. But since the camo is in shades of green, Ben guesses the guy died before all the action moved to deserts. Ben checks at one point for dog tags, wondering if the guy's full name would tell him anything, but he doesn't seem to be wearing any.

Ben doesn't say anything to Klaus about it. The ghost seems determined not to bother Klaus, and Ben's not going to reject that unexpected gift.

* * *

The third evening in the shelter, a social worker stops by to talk to Klaus.

She identifies herself and asks if he'd like to talk in private; he says no. She asks if he's comfortable talking right where they are, in the dorm; he says fine. He leans back and smiles in a slightly flirtatious way, not making it creepy.

She starts asking Klaus questions, and it's pretty clear that she's heard reports of his conversations with invisible people. Last night the ghost of a one-armed man who'd died of exposure had appeared at lights-out and kept Klaus awake and fully freaked out long past midnight, and Klaus had yelled at him a lot. Somebody must have complained.

Listening to the gist of the questions, Ben starts to get hopeful. A few years ago, he might have worried about the consequences of Klaus getting misdiagnosed as mentally ill, but now? He's starting to think that that might be a best-case scenario.

The soldier's listening too. He's sitting two cots back, leaning in intently.

The trouble is, Klaus actually isn't crazy. He just sees ghosts. So now, talking to the social worker, he's pulling out all the stops; he's warm, and funny, and clear-headed. One hundred percent in touch with reality. Last night? That was just nightmares, and the end of a bad trip.

"Klaus," Ben interrupts him urgently, "I think you should tell her about the ghosts. For real. She might be able to help."

Klaus shoots Ben a quick incredulous frown, but waits until the social worker is looking down at her notebook before mouthing silently ' _What? How?_ '

"If they think you're schizophrenic, they'll give you drugs for it," Ben says. "And that might actually help with the ghosts. It's worth a try, right?"

Klaus shakes his head. "But they wouldn't be the _fun_ drugs."

The social worker gives him a puzzled and slightly suspicious look. "Sorry, what was that?"

Klaus shoots a quick glare at Ben and then beams at the social worker. "Just thinking about something. Never mind."

After that, Klaus doesn't slip up again, even though Ben keeps talking to him, needling him, trying to get him to respond.

Finally the social worker hands Klaus a business card and leaves. As soon as she's out the door, Klaus turns to Ben with an angry scowl. "What the hell was that about?" he demands. "Are you _trying_ to get me committed?"

"Maybe, yes!" Ben admits, snapping out the ill-advised words in fear and frustration. "Klaus, you can't keep going like this! You need to get _some_ kind of help!"

"I'm _fine_ ," Klaus snaps back. "Everything is _exactly_ the way I like it. So fuck off, mon frère, and leave me alone." He flops down onto the cot, letting out the quick, high-pitched whimper that's accompanied every sudden movement for the past three days, and turns his back to Ben.

* * *

Klaus shutting Ben out is basically the worst thing that could possibly happen, apart from Klaus actually dying.

It's happened before, when Klaus has been really mad at him. Their all-time record is two and a half days.

To be fair, it happens the other way around too, and when Ben gets mad, he holds onto it longer. He refused to talk to Klaus for a solid week, once.

But when Ben's the one handing out the silent treatment, Klaus still gets to talk to anybody else he wants to in the whole fucking world. He doesn't have to start to wonder if he even still exists.

There is literally only one person in the entire world who can see or hear Ben, and he is currently pretending that he can't.

The morning after the social worker's interview, Klaus walks away from the shelter with his 'good-bye' hand held high. At least until he half-trips on an broken sidewalk slab, and clutches his arms around his chest with a gasp.

"I think Eddie broke your ribs," Ben comments, since Klaus is ignoring him anyway. "It would be great if you went to a clinic and got that checked out."

Klaus ignores him so fiercely that it's almost an acknowledgment. He sniffles, shivers, and wipes his nose with the back of his wrist.

"And you need to get a coat," Ben reminds him. He can't feel the cold himself, but Klaus is the only person walking the early-morning sidewalk without a jacket on.

Klaus rolls his eyes, which Ben savors like a treat—however dismissive, it's a sign that Klaus heard him.

* * *

Klaus walks around shivering for two more hours and then shoplifts a coat from the Salvation Army store.

He's pretty brazen about it. He browses through the women's section, finds the most flamboyant coat there—pink and purple wool in a herring-bone pattern, with fluffy fun fur trimmings—and just puts it on and walks out. There's no doubt the cashier sees him, but apparently she decides to let him go.

Ben tries to catch Klaus off guard with comments about the scenery, the weather, and even a hail-Mary snarky remark about Allison's skimpy outfit in a movie poster Klaus is wandering past. Klaus rises to none of the conversational bait.

At one point, just after Ben tilts his face up to the sky and says, "Hey, look, the geese are migrating!", Klaus takes a breath, and Ben thinks with momentary hopefulness that he's about to respond. But then Klaus just sneezes.

"Gesundheit," Ben says, deflated.

* * *

Klaus has been sniffling all day, which might be a withdrawal symptom. But now he's started sneezing, so Ben begins to suspect he's coming down with a cold. Klaus's voice sounds scratchy in the evening, the first time Ben hears him speak all day: he's negotiating a ten dollar blow job in an alley.

Afterwards, Klaus takes his ten dollar bill into an all-night convenience store and buys a pack of cigarettes, a bag of peanuts, and a twist-top bottle of wine. Ben is grateful for the inclusion of the peanuts, but doesn't say anything about it in case Klaus might change his mind out of angry petulance.

Okay, Ben screwed up with the social worker. He knows that.

He tries apologizing.

"I only did it because I was so worried about you," he says. "Klaus, things are getting bad. You're using so much, and you're burning all your contacts, and I don't know how you're going to make it through this winter. Have you ever stopped to think about what'll happen to _me_ if you die?"

Klaus's jaw tightens. He stifles a sneeze against the hand that's holding the wine bottle, clutching his ribs tightly with his other arm. And then he continues his brisk walk away from the store. He does not look at Ben.

Ben takes a moment to think back on what he just said. And realizes that it was not, technically, an apology.

"I'm sorry," he tries again, matching his stride to Klaus's. "It was a shitty thing to do. It is totally reasonable that you don't want to be involuntarily committed to a mental institution. I'm just ... I love you. And I'm scared."

Klaus still doesn't say anything. He still doesn't look at Ben. But at the _I love you and I'm scared_ , the tense muscles of his face soften a little, and his shoulders slump.

Ben will take what he can get, for now.

* * *

Unfortunately, Ben is not in a position to talk Klaus into going back to the shelter.

Klaus finds his way to a graffiti-covered, disused loading dock in an industrial district. He climbs up, carefully setting the wine bottle on the ledge ahead of himself and then making the short climb with his jaw set hard against pain. Once he's up, he tucks his knees inside of the coat, lights a cigarette, and opens the bottle of wine. Ben seats himself cross-legged next to him—he doesn't have to climb, he just stops being on the ground and starts being on the ledge instead—and gazes out into the night.

He doesn't ask Klaus if he's planning to spend the night here—the answer is clearly yes. He doesn't point out what a bad idea it is—there's no possible way that Klaus doesn't already know that. He doesn't bring up the almost-certainly-broken ribs again, or the fact that Klaus is getting sick.

He just sits. When Klaus is ready to talk again, Ben will be here.

Klaus is all Ben has in the world, and the reverse is also true. It's just going to have to be enough.

* * *

Unbelievably, four days later Klaus still hasn't talked to Ben.

He's _never_ stayed mad for this long. Ben doesn't know what to do. He tries going away for a few hours, telling Klaus gently that he clearly needs some space and that Ben is mature enough to give it to him.

A little over three hours is the longest Ben can manage without panicking from worry and loneliness. He zips back to Klaus—he always knows where Klaus is, he can feel him like a gravitational well—and finds him sitting in a circle in a park with some gutter punks Ben vaguely recognizes. They're passing around a large silvery bag of wine, the kind with a spout that comes in a box.

Klaus's eyes flicker over to Ben when he arrives. The confirmation of his own continued existence sends a ghostly shudder of relief through Ben. But Klaus quite pointedly ignores him, launching into a hands-flailing anecdote about a three-legged dog and a skateboard. He interrupts himself with two coughing fits before the punchline.

* * *

The next day, the cough is worse, Klaus seems feverish, and Ben is starting to get frantic. Klaus hasn't spent a night indoors since the disaster with the social worker. He's barely been eating. The fever could be opioid withdrawal or it could be illness settling in, and either way it's bad.

Ben has never felt so helpless, in nine long years of helplessness.

"Go to a clinic," he begs Klaus. Klaus is standing in a boarded-up doorway, half-sheltered from the steady cold rain. He's coughing and smoking; the cigarette trembles between his fingers. "I think you need antibiotics. They won't do anything you don't consent to. You're _not_ crazy, Klaus. You know that, I know that. Nobody's going to lock you up."

Klaus takes a defiant puff on the cigarette and then chokes out the smoke in a rattling cough. The cough clearly goes on for a lot longer than he wants it to. At the end of it he sort of sways, says "oh, shit," and lowers himself quite abruptly to the wet ground, resting his head on his knees.

"Um, hi," says the dead soldier, who is suddenly in front of Klaus. "Ah, so, I know I said I'd stay away. Until you know who I am. But I've sort of been watching you, and, um, I really think you should go to the hospital."

"Oh my god, are you fucking serious?" Klaus says, lifting his head. Not addressing the dead soldier directly, exactly—more just sending it out to the universe.

"I guess, technically, you must pull through this okay," the soldier says. "Assuming it happened before? I don't think _I've_ done anything that would change things. I don't really know how this works. Anyway, it kind of sounds like you might have pneumonia. I really, really think you should go to a doctor."

"That's what _I've_ been saying," Ben agrees urgently. "Klaus, I don't know what the deal with this weird ghost is, but he seems very sensible. If you refuse to listen to me, how about you listen to him?"

"We don't _listen_ to the ghosts, Ben," Klaus snaps, looking right at him. "That is not a thing that we do."

Ben tries not to yelp with delight from the heady rush of being _interacted with_. "I think it's time to make an exception."

"Oh hey, there's another ghost here?" the soldier is saying, meanwhile. He looks around, but obviously doesn't see Ben. "So ghosts are invisible to each other? You never mentioned that. But it makes sense, come to think of it. Explains why I've never seen any."

"Why," Klaus says, staring up at the dead soldier, clearly too sick and confused to be scared for once, "are you acting like we know each other?"

"Er, sorry," the soldier says, rubbing the back of his neck and looking awkward. "It's kind of a long story. You probably wouldn't believe me."

Klaus gives him a bleak look of amusement. "Try me."

The soldier hesitates, biting his lip. And then gives a quick little nod and says, "We served together in the Vietnam War. Until I got killed."

Klaus lets out a sharp, disbelieving laugh that turns into a cough. When he catches his breath, he says, "That was like twenty years before I was born."

"I know," the soldier says. "You time-traveled there. From the future."

Klaus shakes his head. "Wrong Hargreeves. I don't time travel. I just see ghosts."

"You had a time machine," the soldier persists.

"Okay, assuming, for the moment, that future-me does somehow get hold of a fucking _time machine_ —" Klaus is looking at the ghost like probably the _ghost_ is the crazy person in this conversation, "why the fuck would I go to a fucking _war_?"

"It was an accident," the dead soldier says. "You didn't know how the time machine worked. And you were on the run from something worse."

"You know, Klaus," Ben says, "that is actually kind of plausible."

Klaus makes a scoffing noise. "Don't be so gullible, Ben. Ghosts say all kinds of shit. Doesn't make it true."

"It _is_ true," the ghost insists with a quiet urgency. "Klaus, I know you. You hate cheese and you love canned peaches. You hate fighting but you're really good at it. The reason you take drugs is to block out the ghosts. You're scared of the dark. Your favorite song is _Born This Way_ by Lady Gaga. The first time I heard it on the radio, I almost cried."

"Why would I love specifically _canned_ peaches?" Klaus asks, not addressing the fact that everything else the ghost said about him is absolutely true.

"That's what we got in our rations in Vietnam."

Klaus stares up at the ghost. He looks a little lost. "What do you _want_ from me?"

"I want you to stand up and go to a hospital," the ghost says promptly. "The closest one is about twenty blocks away. I know that's pretty far; I'm sorry. I'll walk with you, I'll show you the way. I wish I could do more, but..." he shrugs, and whiffs his insubstantial hand through the wall he's standing next to, "you see the trouble."

"Ben, have you learned to talk to other ghosts?" Klaus asks. "Did you put him up to this? Because, if so: bravo, mon frère. This is well beyond your usual level of ghostly manipulation."

Ben shakes his head. "He can't see me." He doesn't rise to the manipulation-bait. It's true, he does try to manipulate Klaus—but only ever for his own good.

"Who's Ben?" Dave-the-soldier-ghost asks, meanwhile. "I remember you were talking to him the other day, too. He's another ghost, right? And he's ... it kind of sounds like we're on the same page? He wants you to go to the hospital, too?" He looks around, like he's trying one more time to see Ben. "Shit, is he— are you— do you already _have_ a ghost boyfriend? Now I feel a little awkward."

"Boyfriend!?" Klaus yelps. "Oh, ew. _Jesus_. He's my dead _brother_. Mon frère? I _just_ called him that."

The soldier shakes his head. "Um, sorry. I don't speak German."

Ben and Klaus share an eye roll at that.

But then the soldier goes on, addressing Klaus, "Could you tell Ben 'hi' for me? And that I'm glad to meet him?"

"You can tell him yourself," Klaus says, and drops his head back to his knees. "He can see _you_ just fine."

"What, really?" the soldier says. "But I can't see— um, okay." He turns roughly in the direction of Ben and sticks his hand out in the air, like for a handshake. "Hi, Ben. I'm Dave Katz. I knew your brother in the Vietnam War. I'm very pleased to meet you."

Ben doesn't try to take his hand, because that would be ridiculous.

"He can't see _me_ , Klaus." Ben sighs. "Tell him ... 'hi' ... from me?"

"Ben says 'hi'," Klaus mumbles obediently into his knees, and coughs.

Dave beams in Ben's general direction.

And Ben feels ... oddly touched.

This isn't like the treehouse girl. Dave isn't playing a game. He's a ghost himself; he absolutely believes in Ben, he just can't see him.

For the first time in nearly nine years, Ben has had an interaction with somebody other than Klaus. Albeit indirectly.

"Okay, now how about we figure out how to get your brother some help," Dave says. His gaze is drifting in the wrong direction, but the illusion of a normal conversation is so powerful that Ben has to swallow hard against tears.

"Klaus, tell Dave that there's a free clinic a lot closer than the hospital," Ben says. "On Fourth and Elm."

As soon as he says it, he realizes how pointless it was to say. What's _Dave_ going to do about it?

Anyway, Klaus doesn't even pass on the message. "What? Oh my god, tell him yourself," he says without lifting his head. He's sounding kind of vague.

"Tell who? Me? Did Ben say something?" Dave frowns. "We have a bit of a comms breakdown here. Sorry, Ben, wherever you are—I'm just going to have to keep trying on my own." He crouches down next to Klaus. "Seriously, Klaus, get up. You can't stay here."

Ben watches Dave try to rouse Klaus, for a while. Dave is very polite, gentle, and encouraging. And persistent.

Ben has to admit to himself, there's a certain satisfaction in seeing somebody _else_ running hard up against the impossibility of getting through to Klaus. This has been Ben's (un)life for the last nine years. (Longer, if you count when he was still alive and Klaus was already skidding downhill.)

There's a kind of validation in it. Taking care of Klaus isn't easy, especially when you're a ghost and all you can do is _talk_ to him. It isn't Ben's fault that things have gotten this bad.

But also, he's desperately hoping that Dave will somehow succeed. Because things are looking _really_ bad for Klaus right now.

Dave launches into a story from Vietnam. Something about Klaus managing to march through the jungle for six hours in a monsoon, loaded down with a backpack and a rifle, while in the throes of opiate withdrawal.

This is very hard for Ben to picture. Except for the withdrawal part.

"And you made it," Dave finishes. It was meant to be an encouraging story, clearly. "I swear to God, Klaus, you were the toughest guy in the whole unit. _Nothing_ can bring you down. This isn't going to either. So get on your _feet_ , soldier."

Klaus lifts his head, blinking against the rain. "That's not who I am."

Dave smiles fondly at him. "But it's who you're _going_ to be."

"Okay, okay," Klaus says. "Jesus. I'll get up. I just needed a little break." He hauls himself slowly and painfully to his feet, holding onto the wall for balance.

"Good job," Dave says. "Now let's get you to the hospital. Come on. One foot in front of the other."

"The clinic's closer," Ben reminds Klaus. "But anyway, it's in the same direction."

Klaus obediently starts forward in a shuffling, shoulders-hunched walk.

He's looking about as bad as Ben has ever seen him. He's gotten so _thin_. His face is pale, although there's a splotchy flush to his cheeks, and his eyes are ringed with dark smudges even though he hasn't applied makeup in nearly a week.

Most worryingly, his breath is wheezing in his chest.

After just about a hundred feet, Klaus stops and sags against a wall. "That's enough," he says. "I need a nap."

"No, you can't stop now," Dave says.

"What he said," Ben agrees.

Klaus ignores them both, and slides down the wall. Curls up on the pavement and closes his eyes.

"Klaus, _no_ ," Dave says, kneeling next to him and looking desperate. "This isn't a safe place to rest."

It's a side street in a run-down part of town. There are people around, but everyone walking by just takes a wide berth around Klaus, ignoring his collapse like it's part of the scenery.

It's raining, it's cold; Klaus is sick and hurt and definitely in withdrawal by now, and starving.

Attended to by not one but _two_ helpless ghosts who apparently care a lot more about his well-being than he does himself, Klaus seems to be settling down to die on the street like a stray cat.

This is not okay. Ben is not going to accept this.

Politely stepping around Dave even though they could technically occupy the same space, Ben hunches down in front of Klaus and shouts at him.

"Klaus! You're not doing this! This is not how it ends!" He emphasizes the words with a shove, sharp against Klaus's shoulder, rolling him onto his back.

Klaus's eyes pop open. He gazes up at Ben in astonishment, blinking against the rain. "Ben? Did you just _push_ me?"

Ben stares at his own hands. Did he?

It's not that he's never touched anything since he died. Moment by moment, he decides whether the world around him is solid or insubstantial. He keeps the ground solid so he can walk on it. A chair is solid if he wants to sit on it, insubstantial as a mirage if he wants to walk through it.

But when things are solid they're immovable. And people, being inherently movable, are automatically insubstantial.

"Ben, you can _touch_ Klaus?" Dave is asking, looking hopefully about forty-five degrees to the left of where Ben actually is. "Can you help him up?" Without waiting for any response, Dave tries himself—makes as if to lift Klaus under the shoulders. But his hands just pass right through, and he steps back with a frustrated frown.

Ben reaches out and tries poking Klaus's shoulder with a fingertip. The finger passes into Klaus's body up to the second knuckle, encountering no resistance.

"Situation normal," Klaus says, looking at Ben's hand. "I just imagined that you pushed me. Ben, I think I'm getting really sick. I've been hallucinating a dead soldier from the Vietnam War who says I'm a time traveler. I need to get some sleep." He closes his eyes again.

But Klaus didn't imagine it. Ben pushed him, and he rolled.

And if he could do it once...

Ben tries to think back to how he'd felt in that moment. He'd been so focused on Klaus, and angry and scared. All those feelings are still with him. He thinks to himself: _If I don't do this, Klaus might die._ And reaches out.

And grabs Klaus's arm.

And hauls him to his feet.

Now that he's touching Klaus, he can feel how hard he's shivering.

"Ben, is that you?" Dave asks excitedly. "You're doing it! Oh, thank God. Come on, the hospital's this way."

Ben tries to imagine what they'd look like to someone who couldn't see him. It must have looked like Klaus had just been pulled up by invisible marionette strings.

"Ben?" Klaus asks, lolling his head against Ben's neck. "Since when is this a thing we can do?" The words are slurring together, and at the end of the sentence he goes into a coughing fit that almost wrenches him out of Ben's hands.

"I'm as shocked as you are," Ben says. "But let's move—I don't know how long I can keep this up."

About thirty seconds, as it turns out.

The moment Ben's grip turns insubstantial, Klaus slumps down to his hands and knees on the sidewalk.

"Uh oh," Dave says. "You're losing him?"

Ben gathers himself, tries to remember the feeling of successfully grabbing Klaus, and reaches for him again.

The first three times, his hands just pass through Klaus's shoulders. Each time, Ben takes a breath, re-focuses, and tries again.

The fourth time, it works. Ben can feel the rough texture of Klaus's wet wool coat. He tucks his arms around Klaus's chest and lifts him up again.

"Owowowowow," Klaus moans as he lets himself be lifted. "Try not to squeeze the ribs, bro."

Ben winces. "Sorry. I'm kind of new at this."

He gets Klaus moving, but again he loses his grip after a few dozen seconds.

Well, there's nothing to do but try again.

Dave hovers nearby, watching their slow progress with a frown.

After two long, painful blocks, Dave says, "I'm not sure we're going to make it to the hospital like this."

Ben is actually aiming for the free clinic, which is closer. But it still might be too far. Klaus is getting less and less responsive, and although Ben has no experience with this new manifestation of power, he's starting to suspect that he's drawing energy from Klaus. And that is a very finite pool right now.

"I'm going to check on something," Dave says then. "Wait here. I'll be right back."

Unable to reply in a way that Dave could hear, Ben just watches Dave vanish into thin air.

"How are you doing, Klaus?" Ben asks.

Klaus gives his head a limp shake, and coughs.

And then Dave's back. "I have an alternate suggestion," he says. He's looking over Klaus's head, so Ben guesses that Dave is trying to talk to _him_. "There's another man in this city with that same umbrella tattoo on his wrist that Klaus has. I found him about a year ago. His name is Diego. Um, I hope this doesn't sound too weird, but I follow him around a lot. I thought he might lead me to Klaus. He never did, but—he lives near here. And he goes to the coffee shop around the corner pretty often. He's there right now. Do you think if we brought Klaus to him, he would help?"

"Diego," Ben breathes.

Klaus and Ben used to drop in on Diego a few times a year when Klaus was exceptionally hungry or desperate. Diego was a great fallback, a safe landing place. He always grumbled about Klaus's poor life choices, but he'd give him food and let him crash on his couch. And even though Diego invariably brushed off Klaus's claims of Ben's presence, it always gave Ben a deep, pure feeling of joy to see him.

But one day a couple of years ago, Klaus showed up at Diego's apartment and discovered that the name on the little tag by the door buzzer had changed.

Undeterred, Klaus had broken in through a window that had been left ajar over the fire escape. The apartment had been filled with a stranger's belongings—tidy pastel furniture and cheerful cartoon cat posters.

Klaus had stolen seventeen dollars in cash from a jar on the kitchen counter, climbed back out the window, and never mentioned it again.

"The café is that way," Dave is saying, pointing east. "And the hospital's that way," pointing north. "One block to the café, eighteen blocks to the hospital. Your call."

Dave is pretty quickly turning into Ben's favorite ghost ever.

And Ben's only way to communicate with Dave is by taking action. So Ben gathers his concentration, lifts Klaus up again, and heads for the café.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To clarify the timeline: this is post-S1 Dave meeting pre-S1 Klaus. This Dave knew Klaus for ten months in Vietnam, and had _not_ previously met Klaus in 1963. And this Klaus grew up in a timeline which contains the repercussions of Klaus's mid-S1 trip back to Vietnam, but does _not_ contain the repercussions of the siblings' S2 years in Dallas. How can this be? Let's just say that this is a timeline that branches off and follows Dave's point of view from when he dies next to S1-Klaus in 1969. Wibbly wobbly timey wimey!


	3. Chapter 3

The door of the coffee shop presents a problem. Ben's just managing to hold Klaus up; he can't open the door.

Dave passes through the door and then back again. "Diego's still in there," he reports. "Table near the back. He's wearing a black turtleneck sweater and he's drawing octopuses in a sketchbook."

Kraken. They're probably kraken. But Ben has no way of telling Dave that.

"Klaus, I need you to open the door," Ben says. "I'll try to keep holding you up, but I can't work the doorknob." The building's so old-fashioned, it's an actual doorknob that turns.

"This is in the running for the weirdest day ever," Klaus whispers weakly. "Pretty sure I'm hallucinating most of this." But he reaches for the doorknob.

A bell dings over the door as it opens. The woman behind the counter looks up, and so do a few of the patrons. Including Diego.

Ben is holding Klaus up and dragging him through the door. Dave is hovering anxiously close, lifting his hands once in a while like he keeps wanting to help and remembering that he can't.

What everyone else must see is a skinny, dark-haired man in a rain-soaked pink and purple coat staggering alone through the door.

"Can I help you?" the woman behind the counter asks in a tone of voice that definitely means 'please go away.'

" _Klaus_!?" Diego says at the same time, already on his feet.

"Oh good, he knows you!" Dave says to Klaus, looking relieved.

And that's when Ben's hands decide to go insubstantial again, and Klaus crumples to the floor.

"Klaus!" Diego exclaims again, rushing to his side. "Are you okay?!"

Obviously Klaus isn't, but Ben doesn't bother snarking at Diego for the dumb question. There's nobody here who could hear him anyway.

And it is a huge, _huge_ relief to finally have Klaus in the hands of somebody with ... actual hands.

"Is that your friend?" the woman behind the counter asks. "Do you want me to call an ambulance?"

"Yes!" Dave says immediately, but of course nobody can hear him but Ben.

"No, it's okay," Diego says, giving her a reassuring smile. "I've got him."

"Diego?" Klaus murmurs, barely audible. "What're _you_ doing here?"

"Saving your scrawny junkie ass, I think," Diego says, hauling Klaus to his feet a lot more easily than Ben ever did. He hugs him, simultaneously holding him up. "Klaus, I haven't seen you in two _years_. Where have you been?"

"Around," Klaus says. "You're the one who moved."

"I left my forwarding address with Stephanie," Diego says. "Didn't she give it to you?"

"The lady with the cat posters? I never talked to her." Klaus rests his forehead against Diego's chest and lets out a rattling cough.

"Oh my God, bro, you sound like death," Diego says. "I'm taking you back to my place. Right now."

"Sure," Klaus agrees weakly.

"What?" Dave yelps in protest. "No! Tell him to take you to the _hospital_."

Klaus acts like he didn't hear Dave. Ben doesn't even try repeating the suggestion; the Hargreeves clan has always had a do-it-yourself philosophy for the treatment of injuries and illness.

Nevertheless, now that Klaus is in Diego's care, Ben's feeling pretty good about things.

Diego collects his belongings and heads outside, half-carrying Klaus. His car is parked nearby. He deposits Klaus in the front passenger seat; Dave and Ben sit in the back.

Klaus looks up into the rear view mirror, makes eye contact with both of them, and wiggles his fingers in a little wave.

Diego looks at the empty-to-him backseat, frowns and shrugs, and starts the car.

"You look like shit," he says. "What have you been doing to yourself?" And then he shakes his head, scowling. "Never mind. Like I don't already know."

"Well, if this is going to be nothing but a depressing lecture..." Klaus says, and makes as if he's going to open the door.

"Klaus, don't you dare!" Dave barks in alarm.

"Be nice to Diego," Ben says more mildly. "He's going to give you somewhere warm to sleep."

"Sorry," Diego is saying, meanwhile, looking sideways at Klaus. "Please don't jump out of my moving car. I won't ride you. It's just ... hard, seeing you do this to yourself."

"Your backseat is filled with ghosts that agree with you," Klaus says. "Just thought you might like to know." And with that he closes his eyes and slumps against the side of the car.

* * *

Diego brings them to a boxing gym.

Ben feels confused by this, and Diego doesn't bother to explain, because Klaus is barely conscious and as far as Diego knows there's nobody else with him. It all makes more sense when Diego leads them into a semi-basement room in the back which is clearly a utility room, but has been outfitted as a living space.

Diego sort of leans Klaus against the wall just inside the door and says, "You should take your wet things off."

Klaus slides slowly down the wall. "You want me to get naked?"

"What? No, I just meant your coat, and—you're completely soaked through?"

Klaus just finishes sinking to the floor, coughing and shivering.

"You're sick," Diego says. "You shouldn't be letting yourself get so _wet_. Jesus. Come on." He hauls Klaus up again and half-carries him down a little concrete flight of steps to the main area. There's a battered old couch. Diego looks like he's about to plop Klaus down on it and then thinks better of it—he grabs some newspapers from a pile on a nearby stool, spreads them out on the couch, and _then_ plops Klaus down on it. "Okay, let's see how far down you're actually wet," he says, and starts peeling off layers.

The coat comes first. Ben can tell it must be totally soaked by the heavy way it swings from Diego's hands. Diego drapes it over the back of a metal chair.

Underneath, Klaus is wearing a tight-fitting blue long-sleeved T-shirt printed with Che Guevara's face. He's been wearing it since the party at Eddie's girlfriend's house; he found it in the dresser of the room where he had sex with the tall man.

That's how Klaus changes his clothes, usually; when it's time to get dressed, he steals whatever's close.

Anyway, he's been wearing it through a solid week of homeless shelters and street living. It's soaking wet.

"Eugh, Klaus," Diego says. "You _reek_."

"Been short on change for the laundromat," Klaus murmurs.

Diego tugs the shirt off over Klaus's head, lifting his arms for him. And then Diego swears. "Klaus, who _did_ this to you?"

Ben edges around so that he can see. And shit, it looks bad. Ben hasn't seen Klaus shirtless since Eddie kicked him. His whole torso is bright purple bruises, up and down. Just fading into green and yellow around the outside edges.

Klaus looks down, and gives his own body a vaguely surprised frown. "Parting gift from the last guy I lived with," he says.

"Tell me where to find him and I will _hurt_ him," Diego says. He sounds furious.

Ben hopes that Klaus won't actually hand out Eddie's name or address, because Diego's probably serious and Ben doesn't want him to get into trouble. But it is soothing to see Diego so riled up over an injury to Klaus.

Ben has been trying to protect Klaus all by himself for so long, and he's been so helpless to actually _do_ anything.

Dave's been hanging back this whole time. His expression went pretty grim when the shirt came off. He doesn't say anything, though.

Klaus doesn't say anything at all. Diego shakes his head after a moment and then goes and fishes through the drawers of a ratty-looking dresser. He comes up with a pile of warm-looking black clothing, and brings it over to the couch. "Here," he says to Klaus. "Get the rest of the wet stuff off and change into this. I'll take your things to the laundromat." He crosses his arms and turns his back to Klaus.

Klaus lies limply on the couch. Coughs some more.

"Are you changing?" Diego asks. "I don't hear you changing."

"Not really up for it," Klaus says. "Be a dear and throw a blanket over me, would you, brother mine? And then just leave me to die, that would be nice."

Diego makes a frustrated noise and turns back to face Klaus. "I'm sure you're feeling shitty, but you're not _that_ far gone. You made it to the coffee shop somehow."

"Not on my own," Klaus says promptly. "Ben carried me."

"Ben. Carried you." The look Diego gives Klaus is half angry, half pitying.

"I know, I was as surprised as you!" Klaus says. "He's never done anything like _that_ before."

Diego pinches the bridge of his nose. "Okay. Klaus. Are you high right now?"

"No." Klaus waves a hand towards Dave. "Sober enough to see the dead Vietnam vet sitting at your kitchen table."

Diego glances automatically toward the nearby table. Dave gives a little wave and a sheepish grin. Diego, of course, sees nothing. He turns back to Klaus. "How long has it been since you took anything?"

"Well, there was the space bag yesterday, but I was sharing that with three friends. Barely took the edge off."

"I don't know what that is," Diego says.

Ben would explain about the box wine if he could, but as usual, he's helpless to communicate.

"Alcohol," Klaus clarifies. "I haven't been able to get hold of anything from the opioid family for a couple of days. Sadly."

"And generally speaking have you been using a lot? Lately?"

"Relative to what?" Klaus asks, with a laugh that turns into coughing.

"Tell him yes," Ben says.

Klaus has barely had a full 24-hour period of sobriety since he was fifteen years old, but Ben's pretty sure that this past year's been the worst one yet. The rate at which Klaus consumes the drugs keeps creeping up; his choices to prioritize drugs over food, shelter and human relationships have been getting more consistent.

"Ben says yes," Klaus parrots, insolence masquerading as obedience.

Diego doesn't believe that Ben is here. So attributing the opinion to Ben is a way for Klaus to disown it, worry Diego a little more, and piss him off all at the same time.

Anyway, Diego doesn't get hung up on the 'Ben-says' thing this time. "Are you in withdrawal?"

"Emphatically yes," Klaus says, fluttering his eyes and throwing the back of one hand to his forehead. "Got anything in the medicine cabinet that would help? I'll love you forever."

"No, absolutely not," Diego says. "So, detox, huh. Are you likely to barf on my couch in the next twenty minutes?"

Ah. Now Ben sees the pragmatic thrust of this line of questioning.

Well, Diego has dealt with Klaus in withdrawal before.

"Highly improbable," Klaus says. "I haven't had anything to eat in days and days."

"What, like, literally?" Diego looks alarmed.

And Diego's reaction sparks worry in Ben. When _was_ the last time that Klaus ate?

Ben has been haunting Klaus for so long, it's easy to forget that normal people eat every day. Usually more than once.

Ben thinks back. "You had a package of peanuts five days ago," he says.

Klaus repeats this for Diego.

"Fucking _hell_ , Klaus," Diego says. He stands there for a moment, working his jaw silently and staring down at Klaus. "Okay, I'm going to get the dry clothes on you and then I'm going to go out and get some food."

"I'm really not hungry," Klaus says.

Diego ignores that, and starts matter-of-factly stripping Klaus's wet jeans off of him.

Ben looks away at first, because it's embarrassing. And then he looks back, because he feels like he owes Diego some silent moral support.

He just catches a glimpse of his brother's naked body before Diego starts re-dressing him in the dry clothes.

_Fuck_ , Klaus is skinny.

Once he's dressed in his brother's too-big clothes and curled up on the couch, Klaus looks about sixteen years old. That or sixty. His jutting ribs and hip bones are hidden, but now that Ben has seen them, he realizes that the hints have been there for a while in Klaus's hollow cheeks, his bony hands.

Ben really hopes he can convince Klaus to stay with Diego for a while.

Historically, when Klaus has hit bottom and gone to Diego for help, he's fled again after a couple of days. Diego won't tolerate Klaus using, and Klaus can't tolerate sobriety.

But this time feels different. Klaus's resources are spent. If he goes back on the street and keeps chasing highs and forgetting to eat, Ben really doesn't think he can keep him alive much longer.

Ben is in the middle of trying to think about how he can convincingly share this revelation with Klaus, when he notices that Diego is approaching the couch with a pair of shiny metal handcuffs.

There's a thick pipe running floor-to-ceiling in the middle of the room. One end of the couch is pushed against it.

With absolutely no fanfare, Diego snaps one side of the handcuffs around Klaus's left wrist, and the other end around the pipe.

"Whaaaat?" Klaus murmurs, blinking up at his manacled wrist.

"I want you to still be here when I get back," Diego says. He disappears off to the other side of the room for a moment and comes back again with a metal bucket. He puts it next to the couch, in easy reach. "Just in case." Then he throws all of Klaus's wet clothes into a laundry bag.

"The coat is dry clean only!" Klaus calls out urgently as Diego leaves.

Diego rolls his eyes and shuts the door. There's the sound of a deadbolt engaging.

"Fuuuuuuuuck meeeeeeeeee," Klaus moans.

Dave leaves the kitchen chair and squats on his heels next to the couch, looking distressed. "I am so sorry," he says. "I thought Diego would help you."

"Oh, he thinks he is," Klaus tells him. "Diego's very big on eating healthy food and not doing drugs. It's an irreconcilable difference that we have."

Dave shakes his head. "I thought he would take you to a hospital. Not lock you up in a basement."

"Oh, this little old thing?" Klaus rattles his wrist in the handcuff. "I guess he got tired of me running away in the middle of the night with all the cash from his wallet." Then he wraps his free hand around his chest and winces. "Reeeeeaaally wish I could lower my arm, though. Owowowowowow."

"So who is he, anyway?" Dave asks. "I mean, how do you know each other?"

"Owowowowowow," Klaus repeats in a moan. And then coughs, and whimpers, and hugs his chest tighter. "He's my brother," he adds as an afterthought. "Didn't we already say that?"

"What, like, half-brother?"

"He's confused because you're white and Diego's Latino," Ben contributes.

"Oh!" Klaus says, looking from Ben to Dave. "We're all adopted."

"All of you—you and Diego and ... Ben?" Dave asks.

"I thought you said you knew me."

Dave shrugs. "You always said you didn't want to talk about your family."

"That sounds plausible," Klaus admits. "Doesn't that sound plausible, Ben? Owowowowowow _fuck_."

Ben frowns. "Having your arm up like that is pulling on your broken ribs, isn't it?"

"I guess so," Klaus says. "Do we really know they're broken? Owwwwwwww."

"What's broken?" Dave asks.

Klaus moans. "Oh _Jesus_ this is going to get annoying. Can't you just talk amongst yourselves?"

"Klaus, he can't hear me," Ben reminds Klaus patiently.

"Ben?!!" Dave says, staring straight at him, wide-eyed.

Ben stares back. "You can see me?"

Dave nods.

Ben suddenly feels unbearably self-conscious. Nobody but Klaus has seen him in nine years. He's not even sure what to do with his face.

"Oops, you just vanished again," Dave says.

"Klaus, did _you_ do that?" Ben asks. "Did you somehow make me visible to Dave?"

"Maybe," Klaus says. "I dunno. Ben, breathing is starting to hurt. Like, a _lot_." He closes his eyes and whimpers.

"Uh oh," Dave says. "Ben, can you still hear me? I think Klaus might have some broken ribs and the position he's in is straining them. He needs to get his arm down. Can you shove the couch around the pipe and about three feet forward?"

It's a good suggestion. Ben tries. His hands pass through the couch like it isn't there.

He tries re-imagining the couch as solid, like he's going to sit on it. When he does that, he can brace his hands on the couch, but he can't budge it.

Klaus, meanwhile, is sounding increasingly distressed. He's gasping and coughing and wheezing.

"Honey, don't panic," Dave says urgently, moving in intimately close to Klaus and trying to catch his eye. "I know it hurts but you've got to breathe slower." He looks around. "No luck with the couch, huh Ben?" His focus goes back to Klaus. "Sorry, honey, I think you're going to have to get on the floor. Then you can slide the cuff down the pipe and bring your arm back down to your chest."

"Do what he said," Ben agrees. "I can't move the couch."

Klaus has tears in his eyes. He's really freaking out. But he follows Dave's advice: he carefully climbs down off the couch, holding onto the pipe for balance, and goes around the end so that his cuffed hand can slide down the pipe to the floor. Then he curls up on the floor, next to the pipe, still coughing and whimpering.

"Is that better?" Dave asks after a moment, looking pretty worried.

Klaus nods.

He takes shallow breaths for a minute or so, with his eyes closed. And then he says, "Ben, did the dead soldier call me 'honey'?"

"Oops," Dave says. "Shit. I am so sorry. It just slipped out. Ah, in Vietnam. We had. Um. A kind of relationship."

"Huh," Ben says. "Klaus, I think you and the dead soldier were fucking."

"Oh, hi again," Dave says, giving Ben a startled look.

"Oh my god," Klaus says from the floor, slitting his eyes open to look at Dave. "Did you track me down all the way from the Vietnam War because you're in _love_ with me?"

Dave winces. "I'm sorry," he says again. "I meant to keep my distance until you came back from Vietnam. I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Klaus lets out a short painful laugh. "A lovesick ghost is not the main thing making me uncomfortable right now."

Ben can see Dave's face falling. "Yeah, sorry," Dave says. "I should just go." He stands up.

"Wait!" Ben says urgently. "Can I talk to you for a minute? In private?"

Dave looks surprised, but he follows Ben to a corner of the room.

"I'm sorry Klaus spoke to you that way," Ben says first. "He can be pretty careless with other people's feelings."

Dave shrugs. "Who am I to him? At this point?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Ben answers it. "You're the first ghost we've ever met, other than me, that he's not terrified of."

Dave gives a sad smile. "I am pretty likeable."

" _Nobody's_ likeable when they're a ghost," Ben says. "Klaus has kept himself constantly drunk or high for over a _decade_ because he's so scared of facing the ghosts."

"I know," Dave says. "In Vietnam he had trouble staying high enough to keep them away. I tried to help him hold his shit together when they came at him. It wasn't easy. But he was doing better, towards the end."

"Is that ... do you think you could do that here?" Ben has never managed to calm Klaus down very much in the presence of an intruding ghost.

"I don't know if I should even _be_ here," Dave says, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Do you know anything about time travel? I think I might be causing a paradox. When Klaus landed in my tent in Vietnam, he sure didn't say anything about having previously met me as a ghost in the future."

"Maybe he just kept it a secret," Ben suggests. "Or maybe we're on a different timeline now. I don't know. My dad and my brother used to argue about time travel sometimes, but the rest of us just tuned it out."

"Klaus?" Dave asks. "Or Diego?"

"No, a different brother. But then he _tried_ to time travel, and we never saw him again."

" _Oh_." Dave looks enlightened. " _That's_ what Klaus meant by 'wrong Hargreeves'. The other day."

"Anyway, my point is—I'm sorry he can't be the Klaus you remember. I don't know if you'll ever be able to meet that Klaus again. But if you're willing to stick around for a bit ... um, it's just been him and me for a really long time. And I've been trying my best to help him, but things just keep getting worse and worse. And you're the first person I've been able to talk to about it in _nine years_." Ben's voice cracks at the end.

Dave doesn't say anything for a while. He looks like he's thinking very hard; Ben doesn't interrupt.

Then finally he just nods and says, "Okay."


	4. Chapter 4

Ben has some questions.

How was he able to carry Klaus to the coffee shop?

Why hasn't he been able to touch him since then?

Why can Dave suddenly see Ben?

He also has some theories, but they all involve Klaus, and right now Klaus is curled up on Diego's concrete floor, handcuffed and coughing and shivering. So it doesn't seem like the right time for experimentation.

"I'm sure he'll be back soon," Ben says soothingly to Klaus's whimper.

Dave is hanging back at the kitchen table again. He hasn't said much since their talk.

Ben is sitting by Klaus, cross-legged next to his head. He's tried a few times to pat Klaus's hair, but his hand just passes through; whatever it was that allowed him the physical contact with Klaus earlier, it's not working now.

The door to the room opens and Diego comes in, laden with the clean laundry and a paper takeout bag. His gaze goes straight to the empty couch. "Oh, _fuck_. How the fuck did he—"

Klaus coughs.

Diego looks slightly relieved, and hurries down the stairs. "Klaus, where _are_ you?" And then he sees. "What are you doing down there?"

"Klaus, explain it to him," Ben says. "He didn't want to hurt you, he just didn't know."

" _You_ explain things," Klaus says. "I can't remember."

"Okay, whatever, don't worry about it," Diego says—interpreting Klaus's comment as having been directed at him, obviously. "I brought you some soup."

"Klaus, just repeat my actual words," Ben tries. " _My ribs are broken._ "

"Klaus, just repeat my actual words," Klaus says like a brat. "My ribs are broken."

"Repeat my, what, your ribs?" Diego is understandably a little confused.

" _The position with the handcuffs was very painful,_ " Ben pushes on, and waits for Klaus to parrot it. Which he does, narrowing his eyes at Ben. " _It was hard to breathe._ "

Diego's eyes widen. "Oh _fuck_ , Klaus. I am so sorry. I'm an idiot. I didn't think of that." He quickly fishes a key out of his pocket and frees Klaus's wrist. "I'm going to help you back up on the couch now, okay? But please, _please_ tell me if I'm hurting you."

"Great," Ben says with relief. "Now Diego's going to look after you. Just behave and do whatever he tells you, okay?"

"Great-now-Diego's-going-to-look-after-you, behave-and-do-what-he-tells-you-okay?"

"Huh?" Diego says.

Ben face-palms.

Klaus blinks up at him innocently. "Hey, Ben, when exactly am I supposed to _stop_ repeating everything you say?"

Diego tenses. "Klaus," he says, keeping his voice mild, "I really don't like it when you do that."

Diego thinks that Ben is a mean-spirited game that Klaus plays. Or a delusion. Or a grief-induced self-propelled metaphor. All of the above, maybe.

It makes things awkward for Ben when they visit.

Of course Klaus can see the dead, that's his whole _thing_ , but he can't see them when he's high, and he's usually high when he's visiting Diego and claiming to speak for Ben.

Anyway, it's okay for now; Diego is letting the Ben thing go, and gently helping Klaus back up on the couch. He even fetches the pillow and blanket from his cot, and tucks the former behind Klaus's back and the latter over his legs. "Okay?" he asks.

"Sure," Klaus says.

"So I brought you soup," Diego says, pulling the lid off a white styrofoam container from the takeout bag. "Can you eat on your own, or do you need help?"

Klaus lifts his hand, and he and Diego both watch it shake.

"Okay," Diego says. "Spoon-feeding it is."

This will be the third—no, the _fourth_ time Diego has taken care of Klaus when he's took weak to feed himself. Diego was the one who took charge of Klaus's convalescence after the first two nearly-fatal overdoses, and also the fourth one.

So he's pretty matter-of-fact about the whole thing. The soup is a clear broth, Ben notices, and Diego feeds it to Klaus slowly. And Diego expresses neither shock nor dismay, just a kind of weary resignation, when after ingesting no more than a couple of ounces, Klaus flails frantically for the bucket and barfs up everything he just ate.

"Rest for twenty minutes and we'll try again," Diego says after he's emptied and rinsed the bucket. "I've got to go out front and put away the equipment for the night, anyway."

He doesn't handcuff Klaus again when he goes—but then, the room only has one exit, and Diego's presumably going to be within sight of the other side of it.

Then Dave goes to Klaus's side. "Hey Klaus. Is Ben still here?"

In fact Ben had had to move aside so that Dave wouldn't walk straight through him. (Not that there's anything wrong with being walked through. Still, Ben prefers to avoid it.)

Klaus looks a little confused at the question.

"I've gone invisible to him again," Ben interprets.

"Do you want me to try to fix that?" Klaus asks.

"Fix what?" Dave says. " _Oh_ , you were talking to Ben. Right?"

"Do you think you can?" Ben asks. "I'd really like to be able to talk to him."

Dave's the nicest ghost Ben has ever met, and the first non-Klaus person he's been able to talk to in nine years. To be able to _hang out_ with him would be ... amazing.

"I'm not sure how I did it," Klaus admits. "I _wanted_ him to be able to hear you, and then—"

"Oh, there you are!" Dave smiles, looking straight at Ben.

"Hi," Ben returns with a shy grin.

"Great," Klaus says. He coughs, and closes his eyes. "You two have a nice time catching up, then."

Ben looks at Dave. Dave looks at Ben.

"So, wow," Ben says. Conversation. How to have a conversation with somebody other than Klaus? "You've been around since the Vietnam War, huh. Like, continuously?"

"Yeah," Dave says. "I stayed in Vietnam for a couple more years after I died, then hitched a ride back stateside on a troop carrier. I landed in San Francisco, and—" he vanishes.

Ben looks at Klaus. He seems to have fallen asleep.

Ben sighs to himself, and starts hunting through Diego's living space for books.

* * *

When Diego comes back, he wakes Klaus up and tries feeding him again. Dave flickers into existence on the kitchen chair, but doesn't react when Ben greets him.

Ben decides not to pester Klaus about making him visible to Dave again just yet; Diego getting Klaus to eat is too important to interrupt.

This time Klaus begs off after about five spoonfuls.

"Okay, try to keep it down," Diego says. "We can go again in a few minutes."

Klaus nods and closes his eyes. Coughs and whimpers.

"So hey," Diego says, "Luther's on the moon."

Klaus squinches his face into a puzzled frown without opening his eyes. "What?"

"On the actual literal motherfucking moon," Diego reiterates. "Since about three months ago."

"Why?"

"No idea."

* * *

Diego slowly feeds the rest of the soup to Klaus. Klaus keeps it down for nearly fifteen minutes before he barfs again.

Ben finds that encouraging. In fifteen minutes, he probably absorbed some of it.

Diego cleans Klaus's face and the bucket again, and then settles down to eat his own more substantial takeout meal. Klaus lies on the couch coughing and moaning, and Ben assumes that he sleeps in snatches because Dave keeps vanishing for a few minutes at a time and then reappearing, usually in the same place.

Ben's search for reading material earlier yielded several books about fitness and combat training, a police procedures handbook, and a copy of _Angels and Demons_ by Dan Brown. He'd selected the paperback thriller as the least boring read. He goes back to it now.

It's pretty relaxing, really, having somebody else looking after Klaus. Somebody who can feed him soup and hold a bucket for him. Ben could even take a night _off_ , in theory—he could go _anywhere_.

But there'd be nothing to read.

And it's nice being near Diego.

* * *

Ben can tell when Diego has decided that it's his own bedtime because Diego goes and carefully brushes and flosses his teeth at the paint-spattered utility sink in the corner. And then he changes out of the clothes he was wearing (Ben averts his gaze) and into two pairs of sweatpants and two sweatshirts, one on top of the other.

Ben is a little puzzled by the doubling-up until Diego pulls his cot over near the couch and Ben realizes that Diego only owns one blanket, and it's currently draped over Klaus.

Ben really, really wishes he could hug Diego.

Then Diego pulls out the handcuffs again, and frowns at them, Klaus, and the pipe as though trying to work his way through a logic puzzle.

"Reaaaaaaallllly not necessary," Klaus says, looking at the cuffs through slitted eyes.

Diego shrugs. "You made it to the coffee shop."

"I seriously doubt Ben would agree to carry me _out_ of here," Klaus says.

"I definitely wouldn't," Ben agrees.

Diego just winces slightly and otherwise ignores the reference to Ben. "You must want drugs pretty badly right now."

"True," Klaus admits freely, with a whimper.

"And there aren't any here."

"Your hospitality is lacking," Klaus agrees.

"You sneak out of here in the middle of the night this time, I figure the next thing I hear from you is the city morgue calling me to ID your body." Diego glares at Klaus.

"Oh come on," Klaus says, deflecting it. "Like they'd even know to call you."

"They would," Diego says with heavy conviction. "I've got a friend on the force. I gave her your description years ago." He sighs. "You have very distinctive tattoos."

Diego has thought about this, Ben realizes. Diego has been anticipating that call for years.

Ben would attempt to get Klaus to do something appropriate, like apologize for worrying Diego—but if he tries, Klaus will probably attribute the suggestion to him directly, and that'll just make Diego feel even sadder.

Anyway, Diego is back to puzzling out the handcuff situation. "How much range of movement do you have with your arms?" he asks. "Comfortably."

"Diego, _nothing_ is comfortable," Klaus whines. "My _armpit hairs_ hurt." He punctuates the statement with a desperate giggle, which turns into yet another coughing fit.

"He can move the couch," Dave says. He's suddenly at Klaus's side. He was sitting back at the table a moment ago.

Ghosts can do that; move short distances instantly. At least, it's a thing that Ben can do, and he assumes it's part of the explanation for why other ghosts come and go the way sometimes they do. The farthest Ben's ever managed is a couple of city blocks, but then he hasn't experimented much; he's never wanted to get far from Klaus.

He wonders, suddenly: what kind of traveling has Dave done? How has he been moving around the world for the past forty-something years?

"Like I wanted Ben to, earlier," Dave is continuing. "Klaus, just tell Diego—if he slides the couch so that the pipe is in front of it, you can keep your arms tucked in by your chest when you're cuffed."

"I thought you didn't even _approve_ of the handcuffs," Klaus complains, looking at Dave.

"Huh?" Diego says.

"I'm warming up to them," Dave says.

"What kind of a relationship did we have in Vietnam, exactly?" Klaus asks, and he's _flirting_.

He's starving, feverish and nauseous, his skin's probably crawling from the withdrawal right about now, and he's expending the energy to _flirt_ with the dead soldier.

Ben ducks his head so that Klaus won't see him laughing.

"Sorry, _what_?" Diego says.

Also, Klaus's typical incoherent broken-triangle conversation style is much funnier when Ben isn't the one stuck in the middle of it.

"Dave says you should just shove the couch around the pipe," Klaus says. "So I can keep my hands down here." He wiggles his fingers, tucked up against his sternum.

"Who's Dave?" Diego asks.

"The Vietnam vet. Try to keep up, Diego."

"The ghosts have names, now? You talk to them?" Diego sounds skeptical.

"Just this one."

"Hi," Dave says to Diego, in a friendly way, as though he could hear him. Then he turns back to Klaus and mentions, "This is a little embarrassing, but—I actually know Diego pretty well. I've been, um, kind of stalking him for a year or so."

Klaus laughs. Coughs, and moans. "But isn't he incredibly _boring_?"

Diego blinks. "The ghost is boring?"

"I've enjoyed watching his fights," Dave presses on. "That time he went thirteen rounds with the Hooded Cobra? It was epic."

"Ummm, something about you fighting a hooded cobra for thirteen rounds," Klaus says to Diego. "Was apparently impressive."

Diego looks taken aback. "You came and watched me box? Klaus, why didn't you come and talk to me? After the fight?"

"What? Huh? No, not me. _Dave_. Why would I come to a boxing match? I hate violence."

"Why doesn't your brother believe that I'm here, if he knows you see ghosts?" Dave asks.

"I don't know," Klaus says, sounding aggrieved. "I haven't even told him the bit about how we dated in Vietnam during the war and that I'm a time traveler."

Diego just looks at Klaus for a long moment. "You ... think you _time traveled_ to the Vietnam War? Is that an LSD joke?"

Klaus shudders. "Diego, you know I never take acid. It does _not_ help with the ghosts. And I haven't time traveled back to the Vietnam War _yet_."

Diego just sighs and shakes his head. "Okay, maybe we should wait and talk when you're the rest of the way sober." But then he shoves the couch around the pipe, exactly like Dave had suggested. And handcuffs Klaus to the pipe.

"Good night, Klaus," Dave says. Friendly and a little sad. He goes back to the kitchen table.

"Good night, Klaus," Diego says, lying down on the cot just a few feet away from the couch. "I'm here if you need me." He's left the lights on; Ben is glad to see that he remembers about that.

"Good night, Klaus," Ben echoes them. Neither Diego nor Dave will have heard him, but Klaus does.

Klaus looks right at Ben and whispers _Thank you_.

And then closes his eyes, tense with pain.

* * *

Klaus has nightmares.

He always has, since they were kids. Since the ghosts started appearing to him. It got even worse after the mausoleum training.

The drugs don't chase away the nightmares in the discrete way that they do the ghosts. If Klaus is drunk or high _enough_ , he'll pass out so hard that he doesn't dream. Being only moderately drunk or high, on the other hand, can make the nightmares worse.

Klaus accepts that trade—he doesn't enjoy the nightmares, obviously, but they're not real the way the ghosts are. He gets to wake up from them.

As a ghost, Ben doesn't sleep. So he's watched over Klaus through a few thousand restless nights. As with everything in Klaus's life, Ben's ability to help is limited, but he does his best. He speaks soothingly to Klaus when he wakes up gasping or weeping. It seems to help.

Tonight, the first time Klaus wakes up flailing with a panicked yell, Ben puts down his ghost-copy of _Angels and Demons_ and goes to Klaus's side. And then Ben promptly has the uncomfortable experience of Diego passing right through him.

"Hey, buddy, hey," Diego says softly, rubbing Klaus's shoulder. "You're safe. You're at my place."

Ben steps back. Diego can handle this.

* * *

It's a very rough night.

Klaus is definitely in the thick of the withdrawal now. He wakes up frequently, scared and incoherent and usually needing to barf again. Diego makes him take sips of water afterwards, and puts the blanket back on him every time it falls off.

On one waking, Klaus tries to get away. He wrenches at the handcuffs, falls to the floor, swears at Diego loudly and repetitively. Diego just waits until the yelling dissolves into weeping, and lifts Klaus back up onto the couch.

Klaus keeps having those long, rattling coughing fits, too, and that's not the withdrawal—that's something else. They make Diego frown and look worried.

Dave doesn't appear at all. Ben wonders if he decided to spend the night elsewhere. He hopes that Dave will come back later, and that Klaus will be able to make Ben visible to him again. Ben finds himself thinking back on the short interactions they've managed so far, and smiling. He got to _talk_ to a _person_. A dead person, but still.

Morning comes, but it doesn't seem to make any difference to Klaus. He's still sleeping fitfully, whimpering and coughing.

Diego gets up, moves his cot back over to its usual location by the wall, and has breakfast (a protein bar and orange juice). He checks on Klaus—who's resting relatively quietly for the moment—and then strips off his second layer of clothes, and pads out to the gym.

Ben follows him, curious. The gym is already open; there's an old guy sitting at the desk near the door, watching the morning news on a little TV. A beefy man in red boxing shorts is doing bicep curls over by the free weights.

Diego nods at the man by the desk, finds himself a pair of gloves, and heads over to one of the suspended heavy bags.

He then proceeds to beat the shit out of it.

This isn't just a morning workout. Diego's expression is dark, and he's attacking the bag like it's personal.

Okay. Ben understands. He wishes he could punch things too, sometimes.

He leaves Diego to it.

* * *

The day wears on, and Klaus gets quieter, but not better. Sitting close to him, Ben can hear a faint crackling sound every time he breathes. When Klaus opens his eyes, his glassy-eyed stare doesn't fix on anything. He stops taking sips of water even when Diego props him up and holds the cup to his lips.

"Klaus, tell Diego to take you to a hospital," Ben urges him. He knows their family has always been reluctant to get actual doctors involved in their business, and hospitals are particularly rough places for Klaus because of the concentration of ghosts, but Ben's pretty sure now that Dave was right about Klaus having pneumonia.

Klaus doesn't react to Ben's suggestion. He doesn't give any sign that he can even _see_ Ben.

Mid-afternoon, after another failed attempt to get Klaus to drink anything, Diego lays his hand on Klaus's forehead for a few seconds and frowns. And then he puts his ear to Klaus's chest and listens, and frowns some more.

And then he stands up abruptly, like he's made a decision. "Hang in there, buddy," he says to Klaus. "I'll be back soon."

And then he _leaves_.

Ben trails after Diego and indulges himself in some completely pointless shouting. "What?! Where are you going?! Don't leave him alone!"

Diego, naturally, does not stop to explain himself to the empty air. He locks the back room behind himself, heads out through the gym, and gets into his car.

Ben could stay with him, but he doesn't want to leave Klaus. So he passes back through the locked door, perches anxiously on the chair that Diego left next to the couch, and goes back to listening to Klaus's wheezing breaths.

* * *

If Klaus crashes and Diego doesn't come back in time, Ben won't be able to do a thing about it.

Klaus hasn't reacted to anything Ben's said in hours. And even if he does wake up and notice Ben, what could Ben do? Klaus is still handcuffed to the pipe. Even if he were willing to go to a hospital, he'd have no way to escape.

Ben tries to hold Klaus's hand, to at least give him some comfort. Even that is a failure; Ben's hand passes right through Klaus's, every time.

* * *

Diego is gone for more than an hour, during which time Klaus's breathing gets more and more shallow, and Ben gets increasingly frantic. When Diego does come back through the door, lugging a big black-and-blue nylon duffle bag, Ben is too relieved to even yell at him again.

The duffle bag looks oddly familiar. It takes Ben a moment to place it: it's Luther's old gym bag, from when they were teenagers.

Diego didn't have it with him when he left.

So ... he went back to _the house_?

Diego sets the duffle bag down next to the couch. "Hey Klaus," he says, in the tone of voice people use when they don't think someone's really listening. "I got some stuff that should help you." And then he takes a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. He smooths it open and studies it, frowning.

Ben sneaks a peek. The page is covered in Mom's precise copperplate handwriting.

Diego's already on the move. He fishes in a drawer and comes up with a large clamp, which he affixes at eye level to the vertical pipe next to the couch.

Then he takes an IV bag full of clear fluid out of the duffle, and hangs it from the clamp.

The IV bag has a long plastic tube dangling from it, and at the end of the tube there's a needle. Diego holds the tube gingerly, just above the needle, and gives the needle a look like it's a live snake.

"Klaus," he says, shaking Klaus's shoulder, "I need you to stick a needle in your vein. You can do that, right?"

Klaus hasn't responded to anything Ben's said since mid-morning, so Ben's a little surprised when he slits his eyes open and murmurs weakly, "Drugs?"

"Yeah buddy, drugs," Diego promises. Soothingly. "Drugs that will make you feel _so_ much better."

Klaus reaches out a trembling hand, and takes the needle-end. As soon as that handover is accomplished, Diego covers his own eyes with his fingers. And then takes a cautious peek. "In the back of your _hand_ , doofus."

Klaus had been poking the needle at the vein in the crook of his elbow. "Sure, okay," he mumbles, switching targets.

By the time Klaus has the needle stuck in his hand, Diego has a piece of tape ready to secure it. That job done, Diego steps back, shudders, and presses the heels of his hands to his eyes for a moment. "Okay," he says, like he's pep-talking himself. "Worst part's over with."

He reaches into the duffle bag again and pulls out a small cylindrical metal tank covered in warning labels. There's a tube that attaches to this one, too, and at the end of it is a clear mask shaped to fit over a mouth and nose.

Oxygen. Diego has brought Klaus an _oxygen_ tank.

Diego sets the tank next to the couch, settles the mask on Klaus's face, secures it with elastic straps, and then checks Mom's note again. He reads carefully, and then fiddles with a knob on the tank. A very faint hissing sound starts up.

"Better?" Diego says to Klaus.

"Mmm," Klaus says. Which isn't very informative. But Ben thinks that he sees a bit of tension drain away from Klaus's face.

Ben hasn't actually needed to breathe in nine years. But he remembers gasping for air as he died.

He's not sure he's totally in agreement with Diego's decision to ramp up the at-home medical care instead of bringing Klaus somewhere with real doctors. But Ben is really, really glad that Klaus can breathe more easily now.

* * *

About four hours later, Dave suddenly pops back into existence over by the kitchen table.

At the same time, a man in boxer's silks with a badly bruised face appears over near the door to the gym. He's mumbling to himself and walking in circles.

"Klaus, you're awake!" Ben says with relief, because clearly that's what the ghost-appearances mean.

Klaus blinks his eyes a couple of times and pats feebly at the oxygen mask. "Oh shit, Ben, did I overdose again?" he croaks.

"Klaus!" Diego says, straightening up and leaning in. He'd been sitting by Klaus's side in the chair next to the couch, reading _Angels and Demons_.

(Which had been a little annoying, actually, because for whatever metaphysical reason, Ben can't pick up a ghost-copy of a book that somebody's actively reading.)

"No overdose," Ben says, because keeping Klaus oriented is his unlife's work. "You got sick while you were on the street, and it got really bad. You're at Diego's place. Do you remember anything?"

"Oh my God, buddy, that was a close one," Diego is saying, meanwhile. "How about let's not go there ever again, sound good?"

Klaus is squinting at the IV port in his hand. "What's all this?"

"You seemed like you were about to check out," Diego says. "I went to Mom for help."

Klaus's eyes widen. "You went to the house?"

Diego's quick, jerky little nod lets Ben know that wasn't an easy thing for him to do. "I kept clear of Dad," he mentions. "Had to stay away from Pogo, too, just in case."

"Wow, you did that for _me_?" Klaus's eyes are wide and shining. Ben hopes that he'll follow up with profuse thanks, and then promise Diego to honor his sacrifice by going clean from here on out. But instead Klaus just asks, "What's in the bag?"

He means the IV bag. Diego's already changed it once; he has six more refills tucked into his bar fridge, taking up most of the space in it.

"I don't know," Diego says. "But Mom put it together, so I assume it's good."

"Do you think she threw in a little morphine?" Klaus asks hopefully. "You told her about my incredibly painful broken ribs, right?"

"I told her about the ribs and the cough and the fever, _and_ the withdrawal and all the puking," Diego says. "I seriously doubt she gave you morphine."

"I feel pretty good, though," Klaus says, shutting his eyes.

"Probably because this is the first time in days you haven't been severely dehydrated," Ben suggests.

"You should rest," Diego says. "I've got to go out front and do a few things, but I'll check on you in a bit."

As soon as Diego's gone, Dave comes over. He doesn't glance at Ben, which probably means he can't see him. "Hey, Klaus," he says, settling himself in the chair Diego vacated. "You're sounding a little better. Can you see me now?"

"Dead soldier," Klaus says, opening his eyes again. "I remember you."

"Is it all right if I stay here and keep you company?" Dave asks. "Or would you rather I go?"

"Klaus, can you make me visible to him?" Ben asks at the same time.

"Ummmm..." Klaus frowns, and looks from Ben to Dave. His fingers twitch a little, curled up against his chest.

Dave looks over at Ben, eyebrows lifting in surprise. "Oh, hi!" he says. "Were you there all along?"

At the same moment, the boxer over by the door vanishes. Ben notes that absently as he says to Dave, "Yeah. I never went away. I don't disappear when Klaus is unconscious."

Dave looks puzzled. "Yes you did."

"I guess whatever it is that Klaus is doing to make me visible to you, stops when he passes out," Ben clarifies. "But I was here the whole time."

"Well, so was I," Dave says.

Ben frowns. "No you weren't. I haven't seen you since bedtime last night."

"You may not have been able to see me, but I was here," Dave says. "That was one long fucking night."

Okay, wait.

Ben hasn't stopped to really _think_ about how Klaus's power works in years. It's certainly not something Klaus has ever wanted to explore.

"From your point of view," Ben says to Dave, making sure he's understanding correctly, "when Klaus passed out, I disappeared but you stuck around?"

"Right," Dave nods.

Ben is a little stunned. He's always assumed that if he can't see a ghost, then they aren't there.

"Klaus ... I think maybe _you're_ the reason I can see other ghosts," Ben realizes. "When you're awake and sober, you make them visible to me."

Klaus doesn't respond. His eyes have closed again, and he's lying very still.

Ben looks back to Dave—and Dave is gone.

Well. This is a lot to think about.


	5. Chapter 5

Klaus sleeps for the rest of the day, the entire night, and most of the next morning. He stirs and coughs periodically, but neither Dave nor the boxer ghost appears so Ben assumes he's not really waking up.

It's near noon when Klaus finally opens his eyes and fixes his gaze on Ben. "Oh hey," he says. And breaks into a long rattling coughing fit.

Simultaneously, the boxer appears over by the door. Ben glances over his shoulder and confirms: yes, Dave is back too.

"How are you feeling, Klaus?" Ben asks gently.

"Pretty terrible," Klaus admits. He frowns, wrinkling his nose against the oxygen mask that's muffling his words. He reaches up to pull it down to his chin (he has to use the hand with the IV in it, since the other one is handcuffed to the pipe). "Where's Diego?"

"Out front, cleaning the equipment." Ben had followed him, earlier, just long enough see what he was doing.

"What day is it?"

"November 12th."

"Ummm..." Klaus looks unenlightened.

"We got here on the 10th," Ben says.

Klaus starts to curl his torso like he's going to sit up, but aborts the movement with a groan of pain. "And how long's it been since Eddie fucked me up?" he asks, squeezing his eyes shut and pushing the oxygen mask back over his mouth and nose.

"That was November 2nd," Ben says.

Considering that he can't take notes in a day planner, Ben is actually pretty proud of how he manages to keep track of the dates in Klaus's life. Klaus, naturally, has always taken the service for granted.

"Dammit," Klaus says. "Gonna be hard to earn my keep on my knees until the ribs heal up."

Ben winces. "Klaus, I don't think Diego's going to kick you out."

"He will when he remembers what I'm like."

"I think he remembers exactly what you're like," Ben says. "That's why he handcuffed you to the pipe."

Klaus rattles the cuffs, weakly. "Touché," he admits.

"So hey," Dave interjects, coming up to the couch. "I assume Ben's here? Sorry, it's like listening to half of a phone conversation. I can give you privacy if you want, but if you're up for turning on that thing where I can see Ben I'd really appreciate it."

"Oh." Klaus blinks up at Dave. "Sure, why not." He frowns thoughtfully.

"Hello," Dave smiles at Ben.

Ben smiles back.

And then, remembering something, he glances over towards the ghost of the boxer.

The boxer had disappeared yesterday at the same moment that Ben had become visible to Dave. Now, though, he's mumbling to himself and walking in circles. So maybe it was just a coincidence, yesterday.

"How are you doing it, Klaus?" Ben asks. "Making me visible, I mean."

"I really don't know," Klaus says. "Except ... it's not something I do to you. It's something I do to Dave."

Dave, meanwhile, had tracked Ben's glance over to the dead boxer. "Who's that?" he asks, pointing. "I didn't hear him come in. And there's something ... _wrong_ with him."

"You can see him?" Ben asks, surprised.

"See who?" Klaus asks. He cranes his neck, and obviously manages to catch a glimpse. "Oh, fuck," he says, shrinking back down onto the pillow. "It's getting crowded in here."

"That's a ghost," Ben explains, for Dave's benefit.

" _Oh_ ," Dave says. "Holy shit. I've never seen one before." He gives Ben a rueful look. "Er, present company excepted."

Ben looks at Klaus. "So you're giving Dave the power to see _all_ ghosts."

"I guess so?" Klaus says, and squeezes his eyes shut. "What do you think are the chances Diego has like a 40 ouncer of vodka stashed away somewhere that he'd be willing to spot me?"

"Zero," Ben says. "Definitely zero."

"Can he see us?" Dave asks, still looking at the boxer.

"No," Ben answers immediately. "Not you and me. He can see Klaus. And if he realizes Klaus can see him, he might start harassing him."

"Uh oh," Dave says. He frowns. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Not really," Ben says.

If he had any real way to help, Klaus probably wouldn't be in the state he was currently in.

Dave looks thoughtful, and wanders around the furniture and up the short flight of steps to where the ghost is. He circles the ghost, slowly. Passes a hand through the ghost's body. "Weird," he says.

Klaus has rolled over so that his face is pressed against the back of the couch. Ben can see his shoulders shaking.

Okay. This is is the point where Klaus would normally do whatever it took to score a hit of something, fast, and send himself into a ghost-free oblivion. But Diego hasn't left him that as an option (and Ben finds himself appreciating the handcuffs).

The boxer isn't actively doing anything to bother Klaus right now. Maybe he won't. Ben doesn't actually have a lot of experience of ghosts, since Klaus has kept himself so consistently high since Ben's death. But in Klaus's fleeting moments of sobriety, Ben's had the chance to notice that some ghosts are drawn to Klaus and some just don't seem to care.

And Ben's been sure for a long time that it's Klaus's own panic about the ghosts that makes the whole experience so terrible. After all, Ben can see them too, and _he_ doesn't feel the need to anesthetize himself to avoid them (not that there's any way he could).

Ben thinks: he needs to distract Klaus.

"Hey Klaus," he says. "The ghost isn't coming over here. Don't worry about him. I've been thinking about something. Do you remember how I carried you to the coffee shop?"

"Uh huh," Klaus says, muffled by the back of the couch.

"I was wondering how we did that. And if we could manage something like it again."

Klaus lets himself roll onto his back again. "What are you thinking?" He sounds open to the idea.

Ben smiles encouragingly. "Try for a fist bump?"

Klaus loosely clenches his IV hand, and lifts it. Ben perches at the edge of the couch cushions next to Klaus's hip, makes a fist himself, and tries knocking it against Klaus's.

Their hands waft through each other without resistance.

Klaus frowns. "So, that's what always happens."

Dave has wandered back down into the main area, leaving the boxer to his circling and mumbling. "Can either of you remember doing something different, the other day?" he asks.

Ben looks at Klaus lying there, his face pale behind the oxygen mask. "I was angry and scared. I thought you were going to die on the sidewalk."

Klaus blinks up at him. "Aw, Benny. Don't be silly. Nothing can touch me. I'm gonna live forever."

Ben doesn't bother responding to that. Klaus always deflects Ben's spoken worries about his safety. "Let's try again," Ben says. "I'll try thinking back to how I felt that day."

In his mind's eye he pictures Klaus curled up on the sidewalk, coat soggy from the cold rain. Klaus _giving up_ , after everything they've been through together. Klaus leaving him.

His attempt this time is more of an angry jab than a friendly fist bump. No matter; it passes right through Klaus's fist, just like before.

"I don't think we're getting anywhere," Klaus says, loosening his hand and letting it drop to his belly.

Ben closes his eyes for a moment, to concentrate. Thinks back to how it had really felt, his hands making contact with Klaus.

It's been nine years since Ben's had to actually use his literal muscles to move himself around, to manipulate objects in the world. As a ghost, all movement is a combination of intention and metaphor.

When he'd been picking Klaus up and dragging him onward, he'd been able to perceive Klaus's weight. He'd had to think about the mechanics of the situation, the joints in Klaus's limbs and his center of gravity. It had been complicated and hard.

But Ben hadn't been _tired_ at the end of it. He remembers, now, the suspicion he'd had at the time: that it was actually Klaus, in some sense, doing the heavy lifting.

"It's not me," he says. "It's you."

Klaus smiles with faint amusement. "I've heard that break-up speech before."

Ben rolls his eyes at him. "No, I mean—for this to work. You're the one with the power. I'm just a conduit."

"Are you saying I'm not trying?" Klaus asks, looking hurt. "I _am_ trying." He coughs, sounding extra pathetic.

"Yeah, but ... the other day. When you collapsed on the street. Some part of you wasn't ready to give up." This insight makes Ben feel absurdly relieved. He's got some part of Klaus's subconscious as an ally, at least.

"I mean ... yeah, okay," Klaus says. "I don't remember it very well."

"Think back," Ben encourages him. "Do you remember feeling like you were _doing_ anything, to make it work?"

Klaus shakes his head.

"Hey," Dave says, "do you think it's anything like what you've been doing to let me see Ben?" He's been standing quietly a few feet away this whole time. "Maybe if you could figure out how you're doing _that_..."

Ben perks up. "Oh hey! Dave, that's pretty smart!"

Dave gives a quick smile, and a little shrug.

"Klaus," Ben says, "do you think you could practice turning it on and off? Whatever you're doing to Dave?"

Klaus looks thoughtful. "Maybe," he says.

He kind of chews on his lip a little, staring at Dave.

Dave shifts into a parade rest position, eyes forward, looking a bit nervous.

Nothing happens for about twenty seconds. And then Dave's eyebrows lift, he looks towards Ben with an air of looking _through_ rather than _at_ him, and he says, "It worked! He's gone."

"I'm not gone," Ben says mildly. "Tell him I'm not gone."

"He very much wants you to know that he's still here," Klaus says obediently to Dave. "I think he's kind of sensitive about the whole invisibility thing."

"Sorry, Ben," Dave says very politely, still looking almost in the right place. "I should have said—I can't see you anymore."

"Okay, now try making me visible to him again," Ben says. He's starting to feel a little excited about this. Klaus hasn't made any concrete progress in understanding his own power since the day he figured out he could turn it off by drinking. They could be on the verge of an important breakthrough, here.

"Hi, Ben!" Dave says cheerfully.

"And turn it off?" Ben says to Klaus.

"On, off, on, off," Klaus grumbles. "Am I a fucking light switch?" But he makes his concentrating-face again.

They go through the cycle a few more times. For whatever reason, Klaus seems to find it easier to _give_ Dave the power than to take it away, but with each attempt he gets a little faster at the taking-away part.

"I think," Klaus says finally, "that I know how I'm doing it."

"Okay," Dave says. "Can you do it to Ben?"

"Huh," Klaus says thoughtfully. And looks at Ben.

It takes a few seconds—but then Dave disappears. And so does the dead boxer over by the door.

"Did it work?" Klaus asks. He's staring at Ben kind of intently.

"Yeah," Ben says, looking back and forth between the two empty places. "Exactly the same as if you just shot up, or passed out."

"Not for me, it isn't," Klaus says. "I can still see them." He shudders. "This feels horrible. I don't like it."

And Dave and the boxer pop back into existence, from Ben's point of view.

Dave waves at Ben, a little questioningly, and Ben nods.

"Okay, Klaus," Dave says then. "Now, can you take what you just did, and relate it to when you gave Ben the power to touch you?"

"Huh," Klaus says, looking thoughtful.

Ben can see, through the clear plastic of the oxygen mask, that Klaus is biting his lip again.

Then Klaus lifts his fist. "Try?"

Ben makes a fist himself. Does he feel different? He's not sure. Maybe he feels a little different.

Their knuckles bump solidly.

Klaus's eyes go wide.

"YES!!!" Ben cheers, pumping his fist in the air.

* * *

It's not like flipping a switch. They bump knuckles twice, successfully, and then miss five times in a row.

And then they manage it again.

And then four more misses.

Dave stands to the side, giving them cheerful encouragement and counting their success rate.

After a while, Ben notices that Klaus's arm has started shaking. Whether it's the physical effort or the metaphysical or both, he's clearly getting tired. He's coughing more than he had been, too.

"Hey, I guess we should take a break," Ben suggests.

"Just a little longer," Klaus counters. "I want to try to hit four in a row." He gazes at Ben with wide, hopeful eyes.

"Okay," Ben agrees. The worst that can happen is Klaus gets overtired and passes out again, right?

So they keep going. They're concentrating so hard, they don't even notice Diego coming back in.

"You're awake," Diego says, sounding pleased. "Uh, what are you doing, exactly?"

"Practicing fist bumps with Ben," Klaus says promptly. Because of course he does. He couldn't just say 'stretching my arm' or something else innocuous.

Diego's expression darkens. "Klaus, _don't_. Okay? He's not a fucking joke."

"No, he's right _here_ ," Klaus says. "We can _show_ you." He lifts his shaking fist and looks at Ben. "C'mon, Benny. One more time."

Ben lets himself be drawn in. He gathers his own concentration, carefully, and bumps his fist solidly into Klaus's.

Klaus looks triumphantly at Diego.

Who, of course, has just seen Klaus punch thin air like it meant something.

Diego makes an exasperated noise and turns away, scowling.

"Ben, maybe if you _move_ him," Dave says quickly. "Do you think you could do that?"

Klaus's eyes widen, and he nods at Ben.

Ben grabs Klaus by the wrist. He can feel Klaus's thin flesh, his knobbly bones.

"Diego, look at this!" Klaus calls out.

Diego turns back, and Ben yanks on Klaus's arm.

Klaus comes halfway up to a sitting position with a startled yelp. "Owowowowowow! Bad idea, bad idea!"

Oh, shit, the broken ribs.

Ben lets go, but even before he does so he can feel Klaus's wrist going insubstantial between his fingers (or, more accurately, his own fingers lose their solidity).

Klaus collapses back onto the pillow, moaning.

"What the hell was that supposed to be?" Diego asks.

"Sorry," Dave says with a wince. "I thought that would go better."

"Never mind," Klaus groans. "Nothing to see here."

Diego shakes his head, sighs, and fetches a fresh IV bag from the fridge. The current bag is nearly empty.

"How are you doing?" he asks Klaus, as he changes the bag.

"I need to pee," Klaus says promptly. "Is that a bucket situation?"

"Could be," Diego says. "But I can bring you to the bathroom if you think you're up for it."

"Sure. Let's retain some tattered shreds of my dignity," Klaus says with a pert nod.

Diego gets the handcuff key out of his pocket. "We'll have to go out into the gym. It's okay, Al's taking a break and the gym's dead at this time of day. Nobody will see you."

"Oh, am I a dirty little secret?" Klaus asks with interest, watching Diego unlock the cuffs.

Diego looks a bit uncomfortable. "I'm just not supposed to have guests back here." He unhooks the IV bag from the clamp on the pipe. "Uh, do you think you can manage without the oxygen? I'm not sure how I'd handle you, the bag, and the tank."

"Let's find out," Klaus says. He takes a deep breath from the mask, as though he could save up some extra oxygen for the trip. This is ill-advised, of course; it triggers a pretty bad coughing fit, which leaves Klaus whimpering and clutching at his ribs when it's over.

"Or you could just use the bucket," Diego says, looking dubious. "I don't mind."

Klaus shakes his head. He pulls the mask off, breathing carefully this time. "Let's go," he says.

Diego handles Klaus very carefully and gently, easing him to his feet and supporting pretty much all of his weight. He keeps hold of the IV bag and does his best to keep the looping tube from getting tangled in their movement.

Klaus catches Ben's eye. _Help_ , he mouths silently.

Oh, okay.

Ben goes in on the side opposite Diego, and discovers that he can tuck himself under Klaus's shoulder and solidly support him.

"That's it, buddy!" Diego says encouragingly, as he and Klaus (and Ben) head up the short flight of stairs. "Gotta say, I wasn't sure about this; you look half dead. But you're doing great!"

"Don't tell him I'm helping," Ben advises. "Let's not spoil the moment."

"Okay," Klaus says, a little breathlessly. "But thanks."

* * *

The bathroom trip _almost_ goes smoothly. The hitch doesn't come until they're nearly done, starting back down the stairs into the boiler room. Klaus abruptly goes limp, and slips right through Ben's suddenly-insubstantial grasp.

Diego's still holding Klaus on the other side, but he fumbles at the unexpected lurch. It looks for a moment like Klaus is going to fall down the stairs. Ben instinctively reaches out again to try to help, but his hands pass right through Klaus's body.

Anyway, Diego manages to catch him. Ben suspects Diego may have used his power to slightly bend the laws of physics in the process. Then Diego picks Klaus up, cradle-style, managing at the same time to balance the IV bag on Klaus's belly without jostling him too badly. He carries Klaus down the stairs, sets him carefully on the couch, and sighs.

So, okay: that's a limitation to keep in mind. Ben can only help Klaus as long as Klaus is conscious.

Diego puts the oxygen mask back on Klaus, hangs the IV bag back up on the pipe, and then quietly makes himself a sandwich.

Ben sits by Klaus's side, watching him breathe. Wishing he could talk to Diego.

But hey, when Klaus wakes up again, they can experiment some more. Get better at the fist bumps. And Ben can chat with Dave.

All in all, things are really looking up.

* * *

Klaus sleeps for the rest of the day. Diego spends most of the day working in the gym, cleaning the floors and the equipment. He checks in on Klaus at least once an hour.

He doesn't try waking him up until the evening. "Klaus, hey," he says, shaking Klaus's shoulder gently. "The gym's closed. Do you need a bathroom break?"

"Mrrmph," Klaus says vaguely, and then launches into his inevitable-upon-waking coughing fit.

Diego waits it out. "I'm going out for a while," he says when Klaus is quiet. "So this is your last chance till maybe one, two in the morning."

"Going where?" Klaus asks. "Got a date?"

Diego doesn't answer. "Do you want to go to the bathroom or not?"

"You could just leave me unlocked," Klaus suggests, rattling the cuff against the pipe.

"Not a chance," Diego says.

"Okay, okay," Klaus says. "Escort me to the bathroom, mister prison guard sir."

Diego glares at him while he unlocks the cuffs. "This is for your own good."

The IV bag is mostly empty. Diego detaches it but doesn't put on the new one yet; he just loops the tubing around Klaus's forearm, securing it with a loose knot. He also goes and props the door to the gym open before helping Klaus off the couch. The punch-drunk boxer ghost moves aside to let Diego pass.

"Do you think we could bring the oxygen tank this time?" Klaus asks.

Diego gives it a doubtful frown. "I don't think I can manage that safely," he says. "Tell you what. I'll just straight-up carry you."

Klaus blinks. "Really?" Of course, he wouldn't remember that Diego had carried him down at the end of the last trip. Anyway, he pulls the oxygen mask off.

"Not like it'll be a strain," Diego says, scooping Klaus up. "What do you weigh, like, one-twenty? You gotta start putting food in your body instead of drugs, man."

"But food doesn't get me _high_ ," Klaus whines softly, letting his head flop against Diego's shoulder.

"Yeah," Diego says. "That would be the point."

* * *

This time the trip to the bathroom and back passes without incident. Ben stays close by in case he's needed, but Diego has things covered.

Once he's deposited Klaus back on the couch, re-cuffed and re-masked and with a fresh IV bag installed, Diego goes over to his dresser and gets changed.

He puts on a sturdy black outfit that looks good for moving in, or for fighting. It has a lot of pockets and straps; Diego starts filling them with knives.

"What kind of date are you _planning_ , Dee-go-go?" Klaus murmurs.

"Shut up," Diego says. "I don't have a date." He pulls one last item out of a drawer. He tucks it in a pocket rather than putting it on, but Ben sees what it is—a black domino mask. "Bye, Klaus. Be good. I'll see you later."

Klaus waits until the door shuts behind Diego before he says to Ben, "What the hell was _that_ about? Did you see how many knives he was packing?"

"And he had a mask," Ben says. "Like Dad used to make us wear on our missions."

"Hey," Dave says from over by the kitchen table, with a little wave. "Okay if I join the conversation?"

"Oh, right." Klaus frowns for just a moment, then waves his hand. "Carry on."

Dave nods at Ben, and then says to Klaus, "Actually, I know what he's doing."

Klaus looks interested. "You do?"

"He goes out at night and fights crime."

Klaus lets out a sharp laugh, which turns into coughing. When he catches his breath, he says, "Seriously?"

"Since about three months ago," Dave says. "He wears a mask. He drives around the bad parts of town, looking for trouble. Or sometimes he goes on foot. He even goes up along the rooftops, sometimes. And if he sees somebody in trouble, he helps."

"Oh my god," Klaus says. "Ben, can you believe it? Do you think he's trying to win Dad's love? Because that's a sucker's game."

"It's probably more of a fuck-you to Dad," Ben suggests. "Doing it without him."

"Fair point," Klaus admits. "Hey, wanna practice fist-bumping again? Maybe if we get good enough at it, we can figure out a way to prove to Diego that you really exist."

"Sure," Ben says, and settles on the couch next to Klaus's hip. "Wanna shake it up, try for some high-fives?"

They settle in, concentrating on their movements. Their success rate is better than it was yesterday, but still not perfect.

"Okay if I sit here?" Dave asks after a little bit, patting the chair that Diego left by the couch. Mostly Ben has been sitting on it, but of course right now Ben is on the couch itself.

"Yeah, okay," Klaus says, and pats his hand towards Ben's. This one is a whiff.

"So does Diego actually believe that you can see ghosts?" Dave asks. "Like, literally? Or does he just think you're kinda crazy?"

"No, he knows I can," Klaus says. "It's my power."

"We all had powers," Ben adds. "Diego can selectively disobey the laws of physics when he throws knives. And he can stop bullets."

"Huh?" Dave says. "Like, _really_?"

Ben nods.

"Huh," Dave repeats, looking thoughtful. "Actually, that does explain a few things."

"Ben could channel an inter-dimensional tentacle monster through his belly," Klaus contributes. "It was terrifying and impressive."

"I hated my power," Ben mentions.

"At least you could turn yours off," Klaus says. But then he catches himself. "Sorry. Yeah, your power sucked."

"So does yours," Ben concedes. "It's not a contest."

Klaus holds out his hand. Intuiting his meaning, Ben reaches for it carefully. Rather than the slap of a high five, they manage a careful hand-clasp. The contact is solid; Ben can feel Klaus's hand, warm and a little damp with sweat.

They squeeze their fingers together. Ben closes his eyes and shudders. And when he opens them again, they're kind of wet.

"Ben," Klaus says, letting go, "when we get better at this, and when Diego stops locking me to the pipe ... I owe you a hug."

Ben laughs, and swipes the moisture away from his eyes. "Sure," he says. "Technically I think you owe me a few hundred."

"Seriously, though," Dave says, leaning forward. "If Diego really knows you can see ghosts, why won't he believe you about Ben? Or me?"

"Well, _you_ just sound fairly implausible, soldier-guy," Klaus says. "I probably shouldn't have brought up the time travel."

"Do _we_ believe in the time travel?" Ben asks Klaus, kind of as an aside. They haven't really had the chance to talk about it.

Klaus shrugs. "The jury's still out. But if Dave's conning us, it's the longest, weirdest con I've come across yet. Ghosts aren't usually that wily."

"It's all true," Dave says mildly. "But I understand if you're skeptical."

"As for Diego's refusal to believe in Ben," Klaus says, "that goes a _long_ way back."

"I think it was too painful for Diego and the others to accept that I was still there after I died," Ben says. "Also, to be fair, back when we were still teenagers Klaus did say a lot of bullshit things and pretend he was quoting me."

"You were so emo," Klaus says. "I just made up _better_ conversations for you."

Ben rolls his eyes. "You constantly told them I was saying things that I would obviously never say. No wonder it bit you in the ass."

Klaus shrugs. "I was a little shit," he admits. "Weren't we all?" He lifts his hand. "High five!"

The contact is solid. Klaus beams at him.

Dave clears his throat. "Hey, uh. Do you think I could have a turn? Trying that?"

Klaus turns toward Dave, and there's a new, wary look in his eyes. "You want me to give you the power to touch me?" There's a little tremor in his voice. Like he's suddenly remembered that Dave is a ghost, and that he, Klaus, is terrified of ghosts.

And Dave obviously picks up on that as quickly as Ben does, because he says, "Sorry, never mind. Too much." And does one of those instant-ghost-movement things, so that instead of sitting on the chair right by Klaus's side, he's standing a dozen feet away from the couch with his arms crossed. "Klaus, the last thing I would ever want is to scare you," he says, from his new, safely-distant position. "Forget I asked. It's just ... easy to forget that you don't know me as well as I know you."

Dave's move backwards has mostly worked; Klaus untenses, although he doesn't quite regain the ease he had a moment ago. "Sure, time travel," he says, clearly aiming for flippant. "We were a thing in Vietnam. I mean, why not? You seem like you might be cute if you weren't all..." he waves his own free hand up and down his own body.

Ben's gotten used to Dave's appearance over the past couple of weeks, to the point that he's stopped really noticing it. But it's true, Dave is actually mid-to-high on the ghostly gruesomeness scale. He's in filthy combat fatigues. His face is spattered with both mud and blood. And of course there's the gaping, gory hole in his chest, pulsing with every phantom beat of his heart.

"You know," Ben says to him, "you don't necessarily have to look like that."

"Like..." Dave glances down at himself, and frowns. "Uh, this is how I died."

"Obviously," Klaus mutters.

"You think I was this tidy when I died?" Ben asks, indicating his own comfy black jeans and hoodie. "I definitely wasn't. You can choose a different look." And if Dave looks less macabre, Klaus will be less likely to be scared of him. Which seems like it would be a plus, from where Ben's sitting.

"Huh," Dave says, looking thoughtful. "Okay." A moment later, he's dressed in pale blue bell-bottoms and a shiny, tight-fitting white shirt, with a fringed leather vest hanging open on top. His shoes are navy blue, with platform soles. His face is clean, and his chest is intact. "Better?"

"Oh my god," Klaus breathes. "You're gorgeous."

Ben would have gone with 'acceptably non-disgusting,' himself, but then he's not into guys the way Klaus is.

Dave smiles a little at Klaus's reaction, but the smile is one of those sad ones.

"You can come back over here," Klaus says. "As long as you promise not to try to touch me."

Dave returns to the chair by the couch—covering the distance by walking, rather than teleporting. "I promise," he says, sitting down. "I will never, ever do anything you're not comfortable with, Klaus."

But Klaus is looking up at Dave now with a kind of besotted shine. Ben rolls his eyes, forgetting momentarily that he's visible to Dave.

Okay. Dave really does seem nice. Worse things could happen than Klaus developing a crush on him. Maybe it will even help Klaus get over his fear of ghosts in general?

"So, disco," Ben says, conversationally, when it seems like Klaus and Dave have been gazing into each others' eyes for a little too long. "Didn't that happen _after_ you died?"

Dave takes a slightly self-conscious glance down at the clothes he just chose for himself. "Oh, yeah," he says. "Well, I spent most of the '70s haunting gay bars in San Francisco. It was ... _kind_ of like I'd died and gone to heaven? The longer I was there, the more comfortable I felt with who I was. I'd pick individual guys and follow them around, learn their life stories like a soap opera. I think I fell in love with some of them. I mean, more the way you would with a fictional character than with a person."

"That sounds ... kind of nice," Ben says politely.

Actually it sounds a tiny bit creepy. But on the other hand, what else was Dave going to do for entertainment? Floating around the world for decades on end, all by himself with nobody to talk to.

"It was nice," Dave agrees. "Until the '80s hit. And then I watched them all die."

It takes Ben a moment to make the historical connection. "Oh, shit," he says.

"Yeah, I stuck it out until 1985, and then I just couldn't," Dave says. "I left San Francisco. I've never been back."

"What are you talking about?" Klaus asks, looking from Dave's grim face to Ben's. "Guys? Did I miss something?"

Ben doubts that Klaus can have missed ever actually _hearing_ about the AIDS epidemic (they had the same education, and Ben's been haunting Klaus since he died, and _Ben_ knows about it) ... but Klaus can be pretty self-involved, and he doesn't see history as something that involves him.

(Maybe he should start, though. If he's destined to time travel to the Vietnam War. Oh, shit. Should Ben force Klaus to start learning some relevant history, just in case?)

Meanwhile, Dave is also looking from Klaus to Ben, and apparently drawing his own conclusions from their respective expressions. "Hey Ben," he says, friendly-casual, "actually, could I get you alone for a moment?"

"Sure," Ben says, standing up.

"What?" Klaus says, and rattles the handcuffs. "You guys are going to talk behind my back? That's not fair. You know you can only even _see_ each other because I'm using my _superpower_ to make it happen."

"And I really appreciate that, Klaus," Dave says. "I just want to talk with your brother for a moment."

Klaus grumbles and pouts, but apparently decides not to withdraw Dave and Ben's ability to communicate with each other. Dave leads Ben to a far corner of the room, out of earshot of the couch.

"So, uh..." Dave says.

"His last HIV test was four months ago, and it was negative."

Dave takes a quick, relieved-sounding breath. "Okay. I mean anyway—he was older than this when I met him, and he was okay. But I don't know if that's still really his future, this time around? And he's so thin, and the pneumonia—"

"He takes drugs instead of eating, he's been sleeping on the street, and he has broken ribs," Ben says. "It's not surprising he got sick. But, I mean, yeah. I should make him get another test when he's back on his feet—he's due."

"Sorry, I know it's not even my business," Dave says. "But—this is a thing you've been worried about?"

Ben shrugs. "He has sex with strange men for money and drugs. He's homeless. He uses intravenous drugs. He's in the highest risk category it's possible to be in. Of course I worry. It's one of the main reasons I never leave him alone. He'll take precautions if I remind him, but he has other priorities."

"It's not a death sentence anymore," Dave offers. "Not like it was in the '80s."

Ben is a little surprised that, as a ghost, Dave would be keeping track of medical advances. But yeah, if he'd watched a lot of men he cared about die, it makes sense that he'd want to know how things had turned out afterwards.

"I know there are treatments now," Ben says. "But Klaus is really, really bad at looking after himself. If he got sick, it would not go well."

Klaus incidentally punctuates Ben's statement from across the room with a long coughing fit.

"Case in point," Ben sighs.

"Anyway, Diego seems pretty determined to nurse him back to health," Dave says optimistically.

"Yeah," Ben agrees. "Thanks so much for bringing us to Diego. I don't know what we would have done without you."

"You would have managed something," Dave says confidently. "You must have, right? In the original timeline."

"Unless time is a loop," Ben says, "and he only survived to meet you because you saved him first."

Dave looks perturbed. "You think?"

"No fucking idea," Ben says.

"You guys _done_ over there?" Klaus calls out petulantly.

"Sure," Dave says. "Want to hear some bedtime stories from the disco era?"

Klaus wriggles around to shoot them a big grin. "Yes! Bring it on, baby!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the next one are both on the shorter side, so I'm planning a double update this weekend; chapter 6 on Friday, and chapter 7 on Sunday. I hope you enjoy them!

The door to the gym bangs open about one-thirty in the morning, and Ben hears arguing voices.

"Just drop me off at the door!" Diego is saying. "You don't have to perp-walk me right into my _bedroom_."

"You're lucky I didn't perp-walk you right into lockup at the station," a woman's voice says. "What you're doing is illegal, Diego."

They come into view at the top of the stairs. The noise hasn't woken Klaus up yet, so the dead boxer isn't visible up there.

What Ben sees is Diego with his arms behind his back, and a young, annoyed-looking woman in a police uniform shoving him onward.

"Okay, okay, point made," Diego says, bracing himself against her push. "You can take the cuffs off now."

He is very obviously trying to stop her from seeing Klaus on the couch.

And he fails.

"What the _hell_?" the woman says, staring. "Diego ... this had better not be what it looks like."

"Ummm, what do you think it looks like?" Diego asks.

The woman shakes her head. "I don't even know." She leaves Diego at the top of the stairs and walks briskly down herself, looking around warily. She comes to rest by the side of the couch, very obviously taking in the medical equipment and the handcuffs. "It looks like you've got a very sick man locked up against his will on your couch."

Diego follows her down, moving awkwardly. Ben does a little circuit around, and sees that Diego's hands are cuffed behind his back.

"He's my brother," Diego says. And then, to the woman's very skeptical look, he adds, "adopted."

The woman shakes her head, looking unconvinced. "I've known you for _five years_ , Diego. We _lived together_ for a year. You never said you had a brother."

"I have two brothers," Diego says. "And two sisters. I don't like talking about them."

Two? Ben supposes Diego is only counting Klaus and Luther. Makes sense, technically, since he was using the present tense. Ben's still a little offended, though.

"I want to believe you, Diego," the woman says, in a low, troubled tone that means she clearly doesn't.

"Look at the palms of his hands," Diego says.

The woman frowns at Diego, puzzled. But Diego just shrugs his shoulders forward—the closest he can come to a 'go ahead' gesture with his hands cuffed behind his back.

Klaus is lying on his side, facing the pipe, and his hands are clasped in front of his belly with a part of the blanket bunched up between them.

"Excuse me," the woman says softly and a little awkwardly to Klaus, apologizing while not quite wanting to wake him up. She gently pries one of his hands away from the other and opens it. "Oh," she says softly, seeing the word written on the palm. "This is the man you asked me to put the 'please inform' alert in for, at the morgue."

"My brother," Diego says again, heavily. "He's been homeless since we were eighteen. A drug addict. He pops up once in a while when he hits bottom and has nowhere else to turn."

"Diego, look at him," the woman says. "He should be in a hospital. What the hell are you thinking? _Handcuffing_ him? Where's the key?"

"Hospitals aren't a great place for him," Diego says. "And I had to lock him up so he wouldn't run away while I was gone. He's, um, mentally ill."

Oh, ouch. Ben's glad that Klaus isn't awake and hearing this.

"Diego, I can't let you hold somebody against their will," the woman says. "I mean, I literally can't. I'm a police officer. _In uniform_. I'm going to wake him up now, and if he says he wants to leave, you're going to have to unlock the cuffs and let him go."

"He _does_ want to leave," Diego says with a wince. "He's been going through withdrawal. He definitely wants to get out of here and get high. But if he leaves, Dora, he's probably going to die. Look at him."

The woman, Dora, shakes Klaus's shoulder. "Excuse me? Sir? Wake up?"

Ben knows the instant Klaus wakes up, because a new, angry ghost pops up at Dora's side.

"—why you're arresting _him_!" the ghost is in the middle of yelling. It's a man, 30-something, short dark hair and an olive complexion, three visible bullet holes in his body. "He's a fucking hero! Masked fucking avenger, you should give him a medal, not drag him down into some boxing gym basement to lock him up! Is this what the cops do with good citizens now? He's the only guy who's ever fucking _done_ something about fucking Eddie. Fucker _killed_ me, shot me over a fucking half key of skag. Nobody cares. Nobody!"

"Shut up shut up shut up!" Klaus whimpers, curling in on himself. He hasn't even opened his eyes.

"Sorry," Dora says, stepping back. "Um, sir? I just need to check if you're being held against your will."

The ghost keeps shouting, more or less on a loop.

"Is there something we can do?" Dave asks, coming up beside Ben.

Ben shakes his head. "Not that I can think of."

"Klaus," Diego says. "Please tell Officer Patch that you're okay with being here."

"No no no no no!" Klaus moans. He tries to put his hands over his ears, but on one side the cuff prevents it. He presses his head against the pillow, instead, covering the other ear with the IV hand.

"Eudora," Diego says urgently, "take the cuffs off me."

Dora—Officer Patch—Eudora looks at Klaus and then at Diego, wide-eyed. "What's wrong with him?"

"I think he's having an, um, episode," Diego says. " _Please_ just take the cuffs off me."

Eudora purses her lips, clearly trying to decide whether to trust Diego's interpretation of events.

"Shut up leave me alone go away goooo awaaaaaaayyyyy," Klaus is moaning into the pillow, rocking as he does so. He dissolves into a combination of coughing and sobbing.

The ghost is still shouting, making it sort of hard to even hear what Eudora and Diego are saying.

"Okay," Eudora says, and unlocks Diego's hands.

Diego goes straight to the couch and kneels, bringing his head near Klaus's. He puts a hand on Klaus's upper arm, rubbing it. "Calm down, buddy," he says. "Focus on me." And then, whispering, "Is it a ghost?"

"No _shit_ Diego," Klaus chokes out, his intonation still halfway into a sob. "You brought it in. It followed you."

Something about the ghost's rant penetrates Ben's awareness.

"Klaus!" Ben says. "Ask Diego if he tracked Eddie down and beat him up."

"Eddie?" Klaus asks, confused. "What? Diego, did you go beat up Eddie for me?"

Diego rocks back on his heels. "How could you possibly know that?"

"Klaus, I think Eddie _killed_ this guy," Ben says, indicating the ghost. "I mean, somebody named Eddie killed him. I think it was _your_ Eddie."

"Who's Eddie?" Dave asks.

"Klaus's most recent pimp slash dealer," Ben says. "The one who broke his ribs."

"What does Eddie have to do with Klaus?" Eudora is asking Diego, meanwhile.

"He's the one who did this to him," Diego says, and eases up Klaus's loose-fitting borrowed shirt, showing her his bare torso. The bruises are only slightly less purple and more generally colorful than they were when Ben last saw them, two days ago. Ben winces reflexively.

Eudora's lips press tight together. "Diego, that's terrible," she says. "He should press charges. But you can't just go out and beat up a man, even if he hurt your brother. That's not the way the law works."

"Klaus," Dave says, a little urgently. "Ask the ghost what his name is."

"What?!!" Klaus says. "Dave, I don't talk to ghosts!"

"Who's Dave?" Eudora asks, looking around with a mild expression of confusion.

Diego face-palms.

"I'm serious," Dave says. "He's a murder victim. Eddie killed him. If you tell Detective Patch about it, she can arrest him. And maybe Diego will be off the hook for beating Eddie up."

"Do it, Klaus," Ben agrees. "I think Dave's right. And if you satisfy the ghost, he might go away."

"Okay, okay," Klaus says, turning wide, scared eyes on the ghost. "Who the fuck are you?"

"I'm Officer Eudora Patch," Eudora says gently. "Klaus, I just need to know if you freely consent to staying here with Diego."

But the ghost, who Klaus is _actually_ talking to, stops mid-rant and says in apparent surprise, " _Klaus_?"

Klaus looks a little taken aback. "Do I know you?"

"I don't think so," Eudora says.

And the ghost says, "I used to sell to you. The parking lot over by the water tower."

"Oh my god," Klaus says. "I remember you. You had good stuff. You didn't cut it."

"Huh?" Eudora says.

"Yeah," the ghost says. "That's why that fucker Eddie killed me."

"But I'm sorry," Klaus says. "I don't remember your name."

"Fadi Haddad," the man says.

"Fadi Haddad," Klaus repeats out loud.

"Huh?" Diego says.

But Eudora pales. "Klaus? How do you know that name?"

"He was a dealer," Klaus says. "Eddie killed him." He narrows his eyes at the ghost. "Shot him here," he says, pointing at his own neck, "and here and here," the chest and the gut.

"It's a cold case," Eudora says to Diego. "From a couple of years back. I was the first officer on scene after the shots fired. Fadi was dead when I got there." She turns back to Klaus. "Were you a witness? If I bring you to the station, can you make a statement?"

"Oh, shit," Klaus says, dissolving into coughing giggles. "That would be a baaaaaad idea."

"Diego, I can compel him to testify," Eudora says. "Can you explain to your brother how this works?"

"Um, Klaus," Diego says. "Your info about Fadi. How ... _recent_ is it?"

He's trying to be discreet about the ghost thing in front of Eudora, clearly.

Klaus is not one for discretion. "He's standing right behind her," Klaus says.

Fadi waves.

Eudora turns around, looking puzzled.

"Oh, fuck," Diego says. "Eudora, Klaus really can't testify. He's not ... well."

"I'm feeling better every day!" Klaus counters cheerfully. He certainly seems to have gotten over his panic about the ghost, at least. It probably helps that Fadi's just standing there quietly now, waiting to see how this all plays out.

"I mean, in the head," Diego says, looking at Eudora.

But then he looks back to Klaus in time to catch the devastated expression that Klaus gives him.

Ben really, really wishes he could stop time and have a quick private chat with Diego. Because Diego's just made the same mistake with Officer Patch that Ben made with the social worker.

Klaus talks freely to ghosts in front of his homeless and drug-addicted acquaintances, not caring if they all think he's a bit loopy.

But when a trusted family member, who _knows_ the ghosts are real, tries to present Klaus as mentally ill to a representative of the system who could potentially lock him up for it, that's not okay.

Luckily, Diego seems to be less stupid than Ben, at least tonight. Because he backpedals immediately, and dramatically. "Fuck, I'm an asshole. Eudora, Klaus isn't crazy. He sees ghosts. He can't give legal testimony about Fadi's murder, because it was Fadi's ghost that told him about it." He turns to Klaus. "Right?"

Klaus nods, and the look he gives Diego is full of trust and love.

The look _Eudora_ gives Diego, on the other hand, says that she now has doubts about exactly which brother is crazy.

"And he can prove it," Diego adds. "Right?" to Klaus.

"Ummmm...." Klaus says.

"Ask him anything," Diego says to Eudora. "Anything about Fadi, or the case."

Eudora looks _really_ skeptical, but she says, "What's Fadi's date of birth?"

"June 13th, 1980," Fadi says immediately.

Klaus repeats it.

"Mother's maiden name?"

Again, Klaus repeats Fadi's answer: "Khoury."

"Social security number?"

Klaus carefully repeats the digits Fadi reels off.

"How can he possibly _know_ all that?" Eudora asks Diego, a little plaintively.

"I assume Fadi's standing there telling him," Diego says. "How do _you_ know those things?"

"I'm trying to make detective," Eudora says. "I thought if I could manage to solve this case, it would look good on my application. I've studied every little detail about a hundred times."

"So Diego believes that _Fadi's_ here, but he refuses to believe in either one of _us_?" Dave mutters, sounding rather aggrieved.

"Try not to let it get to you," Ben advises him.

"Okay, well there must be some questions about the case that have occurred to you," Diego says to Eudora. "Things that, if you only had the answers, you'd be able to solve it?"

"Well, _who killed him_ is a pretty good start," Eudora admits. "Assuming it's true."

"Ask Klaus those questions," Diego urges her. "Anything Fadi knew before he died, Klaus can tell you."

"Also maybe some things Fadi learned _after_ he died," Klaus volunteers. "I bet he followed Eddie around for a while. You did, didn't you?"

"Sure," Fadi says. "I _hate_ that fucker."

"Funny I never saw you," Klaus says. "Oh well, I guess I was always pretty high around Eddie."

"I can tell you where he hid the gun," Fadi volunteers.

"Would the murder weapon help?" Klaus asks Eudora.

She blinks. "Yes. Yes, it certainly would."

"It's wrapped in newspaper in a blue steamer trunk in his mother's attic," Fadi says.

When Klaus repeats this, Eudora takes a deep breath. She looks at Klaus, looks at Diego. "You're serious about this?" she says to Diego. "This isn't an elaborate fucking prank?"

"There is a whole lot of fucked-up shit in my past that I've never told you about," Diego says. "This is barely scratching the surface of it."

"I need grounds for a warrant," Eudora says, sounding for the moment like she's talking to herself. She looks at Klaus. "You actually know Eddie, right? I mean, non-supernaturally?"

"Yeah," Klaus says.

"How do you know him?"

"He's my pimp," Klaus says, matter-of-factly. "And my drug dealer." He makes a face. "Former, I guess."

Diego winces. But Eudora just nods. "I can work with that," she says. "Klaus, please tell me that you think that Eddie Brown killed Fadi Haddad two years ago, and that the murder weapon is hidden in Eddie's mother's attic."

"Didn't I already tell you that?" Klaus asks, sounding a little confused.

"Don't say anything about ghosts. Just tell me that you think that it's true."

"I think that Eddie killed Fadi Haddad two years ago and hid the gun in a blue steamer trunk in his mother's attic," Klaus says obediently.

"Okay," Eudora says. "I am going to ignore everything else you said, and take _that_ to a judge."

"Thank you," Fadi says, and flickers away.

"Oh my god," Klaus says, breaking into a huge, relieved smile. "It worked! He's gone!"

"So, we're done here?" Diego asks. "You've got what you need, Dora?"

"Just one more thing," Eudora says, frowning. She crouches down, to put her eye level closer to Klaus's. "Klaus, I need to know whether you're freely consenting to this arrangement." She indicates Klaus's right hand, still handcuffed to the pipe. "If you want to leave here, I can find you a safe place to sleep tonight."

"No, Eudora," Diego says, sounding strained. "He _won't_ be safe anywhere but here."

"Klaus, tell Eudora that you're okay here," Ben urges him.

"But Diego doesn't let me have any drugs. Not even alcohol or _pot_ ," Klaus protests, feebly.

"Yeah, that's kind of the point," Diego mutters.

"It's been four days since you had any alcohol," Ben points out. "Five days since you had anything stronger. You're still in withdrawal, but the _worst_ part is over. How about let's see if you can make it stick, this time?"

"Ben, I don't _want_ to go clean," Klaus says, in a kind of desperate little whine. "I don't use drugs because I'm fucking _addicted_. I use them because of the _ghosts_."

"Ben," Diego repeats quietly, wincing. "Not this again."

"Who's Ben?" Eudora asks, but nobody answers her.

"Look how well you're handling the ghosts," Ben says. "You put up with that boxer all day. You just _helped_ Fadi, and he politely went away. And ... and there's Dave. You _like_ Dave, right? You think he's cute. He's got interesting stories. He's helping us figure out your powers. You won't see him anymore if you get high."

Klaus looks at Dave. Dave gives him a gentle, hopeful smile.

"Okay," Klaus says. "Okay okay okay all right. Officer Eudora Patch, I freely consent to be handcuffed to a pipe in a basement by my brother, because he loves me and is trying to help me, and all the ghosts that he specifically doesn't believe in say that I should stay here with him. Ironically."

"Okay," Eudora says. She still looks a little uncertain, but she stands up. "Diego, I'm going to check back in with you tomorrow."

"That's fine," Diego says. "I'd love to see you again."

He gives her a look, and she gives him a look, and oh. She did say something earlier, didn't she, about how they'd lived together for a year? And now they clearly don't.

Ben makes a mental note to ask Dave about this, later. Since he's been stalking Diego all year. Maybe he has up-to-date-news on the state of Diego's love life.

"Nice meeting you, Klaus. Thanks for the tip about Eddie. Good night Diego," Eudora says, and walks away.

"Oh my God," Diego says, staring after her. "I just told my ex-girlfriend that my brother sees ghosts."

"Maybe that'll make you seem more interesting to her!" Klaus suggests, sounding fairly chipper about it. "I guess you never told her about your thing with the knives?"

Diego shakes his head. "I never wanted her to know that I was one of the Umbrella Academy kids."

"I get it," Klaus says. "I never told anybody, either. Of course, that just meant they assumed I was a fucking Umbrella Academy _fanboy_." He holds up his IV arm, letting the loose-on-him sleeve of Diego's sweatshirt slide down to reveal the relevant tattoo.

Diego gives a rueful nod. "That's why I always wear long sleeves."

"Wait," Klaus says. "You say Officer Patch is your 'ex'—but you never slept together? She never saw you naked?"

"Not that it's any of your business," Diego says, flushing at the neck, "but _yes_ we slept together. I always kept a shirt on. I said it was because I had scars. I mean, I _do_ have scars. But I didn't want her to see the tattoo."

"Wait a second," Ben says, looking at Dave. "Didn't you say that you realized that Diego might be connected to Klaus because you saw his tattoo?"

It's Dave's turn to blush. "Uh, he doesn't wear a shirt in the shower."

"You were watching Diego _shower_?" Ben says, not sure whether he's amused or appalled.

"Well, I didn't know he was Klaus's _brother_."

"You didn't know anything about him," Ben points out. "You just follow strange men into the shower?"

Klaus is laughing so hard he's making himself cough. Diego is staring at him, looking puzzled, probably because the last thing Diego said wasn't even remotely funny.

"By the time I'd been a ghost for a few years, following people around didn't feel invasive anymore," Dave says. He still looks embarrassed. "It's not like my presence could ever possibly make any difference." He rubs the back of his neck. "It feels different now that I can talk to you and Klaus."

"Yeah, _please_ don't spy on Diego in the shower anymore," Ben says.

"Klaus, _why_ are you laughing?" Diego finally asks.

Klaus shakes his head, gasping. "I can't tell you. You wouldn't believe me, and you'd be pissed off."

"Okay." Diego apparently doesn't think this one's worth pursuing. "You should go back to sleep. I'm sorry we woke you up. And ... sorry about that whole thing with the ghost. I know that's rough on you."

Laughter forgotten, Klaus gives a fragile little shrug. "Don't worry about it," he says. Like facing the fear that's kept him high for his entire adult life is no big deal. "Thanks for reversing course on the telling-your-ex-I'm-crazy thing."

"It was an asshole move in the first place," Diego admits. "I'm sorry."

Klaus shrugs again. "Did you really beat up Eddie for me?"

Diego rubs his left thumb over the knuckles of his right hand. Which, Ben notices, are a little scraped up. "Yeah," he says.

"Oh, Diego, that's so sweeeeet!" Klaus says, beaming up at him. "How the fuck did you even find him? I never even told you his name."

Diego sighs. "I asked around. A lot of people know you."

"Oh, that makes sense," Klaus nods.

Diego sits down in the chair by the couch, and takes Klaus's hand. "And I realized—I could have done that _any_ time in the past two years. I could have found you. And I didn't. I just left my forwarding address when I moved, and I figured it was up to you to come looking for me. And you were all alone out there."

"Diego, it's okay," Klaus says quietly. "I'm never alone. I have Ben."

Diego's shoulders move in a silent sigh. He doesn't scold Klaus this time, though. Klaus is looking up at Diego calmly and gently, and Ben guesses that Diego wouldn't assume that Klaus is currently fucking with him, given the tone.

"Okay, buddy," Diego says, sounding sad. "Get some sleep."

Because if Diego is incapable of believing that Ben is really here, and if he _doesn't_ think that Klaus is fucking with him, then by process of elimination he must believe that Klaus is, in fact, crazy.

"I'm sorry, Ben," Klaus whispers as soon as Diego's gone off to change into whatever clothes he's planning to sleep in. "I tried."

"It's okay," Ben sighs. "I'm used to it.

"I'll keep trying," Klaus promises, still whispering, holding Ben's eye.

"Thanks," Ben says. And then he reaches out a hand. "Let me touch you?"

Klaus nods, and looks inward for a moment.

The change in how Ben feels is very, very subtle, but they've practiced enough times today that he's learning to recognize it. He knows that when he reaches out, he'll be able to feel Klaus.

Ben takes Klaus's hand, the same way Diego did, and squeezes it. "Sleep well, Klaus," he says. "I'll be here all night if you need me."

"I know," Klaus whispers, and closes his eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go; bonus update!

"I have an idea," Klaus says the next morning. "Ben, want to try moving a pencil?"

"A pencil?" They've been fist-bumping for about twenty minutes, since Diego went out into the gym. They're getting so good at it, it's almost getting boring.

"Yeah," Klaus says. "I kind of feel like maybe that's a thing I could help you do. And if you could hold a pencil, you could, like, _write_. A note, to Diego. And let him know you're here."

Ben is stunned by the thought. The _possibilities_ that would open up... "You really think that would work?"

"Let's try. I'm pretty sure there's one over on the table."

Ben stands up and goes over to Diego's somewhat cluttered kitchen table. There's receipts and empty take-out containers and plastic utensils, and yes, there is a wooden pencil lying near the edge.

"How do you think this is going to work?" Ben asks.

"Kind of hard to explain," Klaus says. "When I make it so you can touch me, I'm feeding you power but it's still focused on me. But if I can make the power kind of bounce _through_ you..." He trails off, frowning. His hands clench into fists.

And then his fists start glowing faintly blue.

Ben feels different.

He reaches for the pencil.

He feels it.

It wobbles.

"It's working!" Ben cries out.

Dave comes over to watch. "You sure that wasn't just the wind?" he says, a bit dubiously.

Ben rolls his eyes. "There's no wind in here." He reaches for the pencil again.

It's not the same as the times he's touched Klaus. When he touches Klaus, it feels like touching things did when Ben was alive. He's felt the warmth of Klaus's skin, knobbyness of his bones, the texture of his clothes.

Touching the pencil is closer to the feeling that Ben has when he lets furniture be solid so that he can sit on it. It's just a presence.

But unlike the furniture, he can _move_ it.

He feels clumsy. He can't pinch the pencil between his fingers; somehow, its physical presence isn't precise enough for that. But he manages to push it off the table.

"Wow, look at it go!" Dave says appreciatively.

When Ben tries to pick the pencil up off the floor, he can't manage it. His fingers fumble around the pencil, wiggling it without managing to grasp it.

But then he tries pushing one of the plastic forks off the table, and that works just fine.

"Ben!" Klaus calls out cheerfully. "You can be a poltergeist now!"

Ben's smiling so wide his cheeks are hurting. "Klaus this is amazing!" he says. "I'm _moving things_!" He's so happy he almost feels like he's going to cry.

"Try the cardboard box," Dave suggests, pointing to an empty Chinese-food container.

Ben reaches out with both hands. Grasps it.

The sensation doesn't match the visual cues. Between his hands, the box just feels like a thicker patch of empty space, with its own special gravity. But he tells himself sternly that it's a _box_ , and it's between his hands, and ... he's picking it up.

He manages to get it a couple of inches off the table's surface, and then he drops it. It topples over on its side, still on the table.

"Okay, that's enough," Klaus gasps. The blue glow of his fists fades away. "That is a _lot_ more tiring than fist-bumping."

"Harder than getting me to carry you two blocks?" Ben asks.

Klaus coughs. When he catches his breath, he says, "It's sort of like ... you know how it's easier to carry a weight tucked up against your chest instead of doing it with your arm sticking straight out from your body?"

"Sure," Dave says. "Klaus, you're shaking," he adds, sounding a little alarmed.

Ben goes back to the couch. Dave's right; Klaus is trembling.

"J-just cold," Klaus says, pulling Diego's blanket up to his chin.

Ben exchanges a worried look with Dave. "Yeah, let's stop experimenting for now," Ben says. "Maybe you should nap again. You're still pretty sick, Klaus."

"Okay," Klaus says, closing his eyes immediately. "Mmm, b'that w's fun, right? G'na try 'gain l'ter."

Not even thirty seconds later, Dave vanishes from Ben's point of view.

Ben spends the rest of the morning gazing happily at the pencil and the plastic fork lying on the floor.

* * *

Diego comes in at lunch time with a fresh supply of IV bags.

He wakes Klaus up, brings him to the bathroom, installs a new bag, and then says, "Mom says it's time for you to start eating."

"Oh, that went so well before," Klaus says.

"This stuff's keeping you going for now, but long-term you'd still starve," Diego says, tapping the bag. "Don't worry, there's anti-nausea meds in the mix. You should be able to keep the soup down this time. Oh, and apparently I was supposed to be taking your temperature like every four hours. Oops."

Dave winces at that.

Ben, meanwhile, is just waiting for Diego to notice the pencil and the fork on the floor.

Diego gets Klaus to lower the oxygen mask so that he can stick an oral thermometer in his mouth. And then Diego goes and opens a can of vegetable soup, and starts heating it in a little saucepan on the hot plate that sits on top of the bar fridge.

A minute later, Diego comes back and takes the thermometer out of Klaus's mouth. He checks it and goes over to the table. And looks puzzled for a moment. And then reaches down to the floor to pick up the pencil. "Huh, how'd that get down there?"

Ben lets out an actual yelp of glee. "Tell him, Klaus, tell him!"

"Ben did it," Klaus says, like it was just something casual. "He's like a cat. He enjoys knocking things off of tables."

Ben glares at Klaus. "Don't fucking say it like that! No wonder he never believes you. Are you capable of sounding like you're _serious_ about something?"

"Ben, I sound the way I sound," Klaus says, looking wounded.

"Fucking hell, Klaus," Diego says, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Do we have to do this? And you have a 101-degree fever, by the way. Which is _not_ high enough for you to claim you're hallucinating."

"I am _serious_ , Diego," Klaus says. Catching Ben's eye with a glare on the emphasized word. "Ben and I have been experimenting with my powers now that I'm so uncharacteristically sober. I've managed to give him enough juice to interact with small objects."

"Really," Diego says. Tone falling, not rising.

"Really!" Klaus insists. "Who do you _think_ knocked the pencil to the floor? It certainly wasn't _me_." He rattles his handcuffed hand.

"I must've knocked it off without noticing when I was having breakfast this morning," Diego says. "It's not a huge mystery."

"Gaaaaaaah," Ben says, despairing. "Klaus, tell him we can prove it!"

"We can prove it!" Klaus says quickly. "Watch."

Ben hurries over to the table, and readies his hands on either side of the empty takeout box.

Klaus clenches his fists, hunches forward, and frowns.

Nothing happens.

"Fuuuuuuck," Klaus moans, collapsing back against the pillow. "I'm too tired." He starts coughing, and fumbles with the oxygen mask—it was still down around his neck from when Diego took his temperature.

Diego sighs. "Uh huh," he says. He uses the pencil to write the time of day and Klaus's temperature on the back of one of the old takeout receipts. And then he goes and helps Klaus get the mask back in position. "Just rest for five minutes, okay, and then you're going to eat some soup."

"It's okay, Klaus," Ben says, trying really hard not to be annoyed with him. "We'll try again later."

* * *

Klaus is subdued while he eats the soup. Ben guesses that he feels bad about the failure of the demonstration. Anyway, Klaus doesn't say anything else to Ben while Diego is around. And then he falls asleep again before Diego even leaves the room.

But hey, he did eat about four ounces of soup. By himself. Without barfing afterwards. So Diego's nursing, even if it is a bit haphazard, seems to be working.

When Klaus has more of his strength back, Ben tells himself optimistically, they can try again to do their new trick in front of Diego. It's only a matter of time.

* * *

Klaus wakes again mid-afternoon, and Dave talks them out of doing any more power experiments for the moment (apart from the apparently-easy task of letting Dave see Ben in the first place).

"You're still seriously ill," Dave points out, looking worried. "There's no rush, right?"

Ben wants to protest that it's been _nine years_ since he existed to anyone but Klaus, and he is _this close_ to managing some kind of reunion with Diego, and he feels like he's going to burst.

But before he says anything, he remembers that Dave wandered the world completely alone for nearly fifty years. And Ben doesn't want to sound like a whiner.

"Okay," Ben says. "Let's just hang out."

So that's going well. Dave has a lot of stories about disco clubs, and Klaus has a lot of stories about raves, and the two of them really seem to be hitting it off. Ben's a little bored, but it's nice to see Klaus giggling. It's nice to see him _sober_ and giggling. Ben can't remember seeing Klaus simultaneously happy and sober since ... fucking hell. Since they were thirteen?

And then the fucking dead boxer decides to come over and share his problems with Klaus.

Ben has no idea what triggered it. Klaus has been living in the boiler room, talking to ghosts, talking _about_ ghosts, and experimenting with ghost-related superpowers, for days. Since his appearance, the boxer has done nothing but walk in circles up by the door, mumbling to himself.

And then, in the middle of Klaus telling Dave about the time he managed to sneak into a Gwen Stefani concert by giving a blow job to the guy guarding the fire escape, the boxer suddenly stumbles down the stairs, leans over the couch, and starts yelling to Klaus about some dirty ref refusing to call a TKO in the seventh round of something.

Klaus rattles his handcuffed hand desperately, yanking at it as though he thinks that maybe for the past three days he's only been _pretending_ to be stuck. "Go away go away go away!" The words tumble out of him, his voice cracking. "Oh, _fuuuuuck_ ," he wails, shrinking into his pillow. His eyes are wide, fixed on the boxer.

Ben has a flash of inspiration. "Klaus, make me and Dave visible to _him_. Then maybe we can get rid of him for you."

But Klaus shakes his head wildly. "Give him _more_ power?" he wails. "Are you fucking _kidding_ me, Ben?" He's starting to hyperventilate. The oxygen mask will probably help counteract that, but the too-fast breathing is making him cough and choke.

"Klaus," Dave says, crouching by the couch so that his face is level with Klaus's. "Listen to me. Don't listen to the ghost, listen to me. Focus on my voice. You can handle this. If you ignore him, he'll go away eventually."

"I can't," Klaus pants. Chokes. Whimpers. "He's right there, he's reaching for me..."

The boxer is, in fact, groping towards Klaus. His hands are encased in red Everlast gloves. The gloves pass through the back of the couch, and Klaus's shaking shoulder.

"Turn towards me," Dave says. There's an intensity to his voice, but also a soothing steadiness. "Don't look at him. Listen to me. Let me tell you about the most scared _I've_ ever been."

"I don't want to hear about how you _died_ , Dave," Klaus wails, but he does roll onto his side so that his nose is nearly touching Dave's.

"Dying wasn't scary," Dave says. "It happened too fast. The most scared _I've_ ever been in my life was the first time I kissed you."

"What?" Klaus whimpers, squinting at Dave. Hunching his shoulders against the boxer's continued groping and barely-coherent ranting.

"Oh yeah," Dave said. "That was the most terrifying moment of my life, by far. And keep in mind, I've had the experience of walking through literal minefields. That's scary too, don't get me wrong. But the fear of pain or death was _nothing_ compared to the dizzying leap of reaching out to you, and not knowing who I'd be anymore on the other side."

"I don't understand," Klaus says.

But it's working, Ben realizes. Dave is drawing Klaus's focus, pulling it away from the ghost. Klaus's panic is ebbing.

"Where I grew up, a man could not be gay," Dave says. "It wasn't allowed. That wasn't a self I could _be_. Deep down I knew something wasn't right with me, but I didn't even have words for it. And then you came along. And you looked at me like you saw into that dirty, secret part of me and you thought it was _wonderful_. All I had to do was reach out to you, and that self would be real, and you would love him. But the other self, the one my father and my uncle wanted—in that moment, he was going to die. And nothing was ever going to be the same."

"And you did it?" Klaus's voice is shaky, but he's keeping his attention steady on Dave now. Barely flinching when the boxer shouts. "You kissed me?"

"I leaned in, and you leaned in, and we kissed each other," Dave says with a fond smile.

"Dave," Klaus says, squeezing his eyes shut and hunching his shoulders, "can you hold my hand? And keep talking?"

"Okay," Dave says. He reaches carefully for Klaus's hand—the left one, with the IV in it, since that's the one clenched under Klaus's chin. As Ben watches, Dave gently uncurls Klaus's fingers and intertwines them with his own. "Want to hear about how we met?"

Ben tries not to be jealous. Ben had to practice fist-bumps with Klaus for a _day_ before they could manage them consistently, and Dave manages to hold Klaus's hand on the first try?

But this ghostly manifestation isn't exactly a physical skill. And it does seem like how well it works is at least partly proportional to how desperately Klaus needs it to.

Meanwhile, Klaus has nodded, giving consent to the how-we-met story. Ben reflects that this is either a great idea or a terrible idea, depending on which of Five and Dad's time travel theories were actually correct—so whatever, it's a coin-flip.

"Well, on April 16th, 1967, you popped out of thin air in my tent in the A Shau Valley," Dave says. "You were wearing nothing but a jacket and a towel."

* * *

Dave holds Klaus's hand and talks to him until Klaus falls asleep.

Ben knows Klaus has fallen asleep, because Dave and the boxer both disappear.

From _Ben's_ perspective, they disappear, Ben reminds himself.

Dave is probably going to sit next to Klaus and talk to him all afternoon. He really seems to like him.

The boxer, hopefully, will get bored eventually and go back up the stairs before Klaus wakes up.

Ben shrugs. Klaus is safe; there's nothing Ben can do to help right now. He goes and finds himself a book.

He finished _Angels and Demons_ yesterday. But the police procedures handbook is surprisingly interesting, if you approach it in the right spirit.

* * *

Early evening, there are voices at the door. "Naw, don't come in today, Al, the place is a mess," Diego's saying as the door opens. Sounding a little frantic. "I was sorting laundry. My underwear's everywhere."

"You're supposed to keep the place _tidy_ ," returns the grouchy voice of Diego's landlord slash boss, the boxing club owner. "I need to check the boiler."

"I'll do it!" Diego volunteers quickly. "Just tell me what to look for."

And then Al appears at the top of the stairs, scowling. "It'll only take five minutes," he's saying.

And then he stops.

Ben can see that the first thing he notices is Klaus's flamboyant pink-and-purple coat, which is currently draped over the railing at the top of the stairs.

Al's eyebrows go up. "You're not supposed to have a woman back here, Diego," he says in a tone of extreme irritation.

Diego winces. "I don't," he says. "It's just—"

And then Al obviously spots Klaus. "What the _fuck_?"

"It's my brother!" Diego says quickly. "He's been sick. He needed a place to stay while—"

"Diego, you can _not_ have somebody staying back here," Al snaps. " _You're_ not even supposed to be back here. We're not rated residential. If you can't follow my rules, you need to—"

"He's not staying here!" Diego interrupts, nearly squeaking. "I mean, it was just a few hours this afternoon. He's staying with our sister. She needed me to look after him while she, she, got her nails done."

Diego is amazingly bad at lying. And Ben guesses that Al doesn't exactly believe him. But Al crosses his arms and glares at Diego and says, "Okay, well you'd better take him back to her now. And if I catch anybody back here again, you are _out_. Got it?"

"Got it," Diego says quickly, obediently. "Sir. I am so sorry. It won't happen again."

" _Now_ ," Al reiterates, shifting into a solid waiting stance.

Diego grabs Klaus's coat and boots, and hurries down the stairs. He wakes Klaus by shaking his shoulder, and then unlocks the handcuffs while Klaus gets through his waking-up coughing fit. Dave, Ben sees, is standing just off to the side, watching Diego. 

"What's happening?" Klaus asks, as Diego detaches the half-full IV bag from the length of plastic tubing. "Bathroom break?"

Diego wraps the tubing around Klaus's wrist. "No, we're going out."

"Oh, okay," Klaus says, malleable for the moment. He looks like he's still half-asleep. 

Diego retrieves the black and blue nylon duffle bag from where he dumped it in a corner. He puts the remaining IV bags from the fridge in it, along with the half-full one. Then he heads back to the couch and tugs the oxygen mask off Klaus's face. "Gotta put this away for a bit," he says, turning off the flow at the top of the tank and putting the whole apparatus into the duffle bag. Then he turns his attention to putting Klaus's boots and coat on him.

" _Where_ are we going?" Klaus asks, starting to look a little more alert and wary, as Diego fishes his arms through the arms of the coat.

"Uh, Vanya's place," Diego says. He slings the duffle bag over his shoulder, and then tucks his other arm behind Klaus's torso to lift him up.

Ben's about to step in to help, but Dave gets there ahead of him.

The shy smile Klaus gives Dave makes Ben roll his eyes a little. But it doesn't matter; nobody's looking at him.

Al's glare follows Diego and Klaus (and Dave) up the stairs, out through the gym, and out into the parking lot to Diego's car.

Diego deposits Klaus in the front passenger seat, and tosses the duffle bag in the back. Ben gets in behind Klaus, instinctively pressing himself up against the car door so that he's not sitting half inside the duffle bag. Technically he doesn't need to do this, but he's never gotten over the psychological weirdness of resting in the same space as some physical object. Over behind the driver's seat, Dave's doing the same thing.

"Why are we going to Vanya's?" Klaus asks.

"We're not," Diego says. "I just had to say something and get you out of there. God _damn_ it. Let me think for a minute."

"Did you see the angry man at the top of the stairs?" Klaus asks. "Not the boxer, the other one. In the blue shirt."

"Uh, yeah, how could I possibly not have?" Diego asks. And then catches himself. "Oh, shit, did you think he might be a ghost?"

"He didn't talk to you," Klaus points out.

"He finished talking before you woke up," Diego says. "He's royally pissed at me right now. _Fuck_." Then he frowns, "Wait, what boxer?"

"Oh, _he_ was a ghost," Klaus says. "I won't miss him. If we're not going to Vanya's, where are we going?"

"I don't know yet," Diego says, starting the car. "But if I get caught bringing you to the gym again, I'm homeless too."

"Oh," Klaus says. A little pause. "Well, you can let me out anywhere."

"What?!" Diego gives him an irritated glance. "No way."

"I'm feeling much better," Klaus says earnestly. "If I could keep the oxygen tank, though, that would be great—Mom didn't say she wanted it back, did she?"

Diego winces. Taps his fingers on the steering wheel. Sighs, and signals left. "Okay, you know what? _Yes_ we're going to Vanya's."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will appear on Friday, and I'll resume the once-a-week posting schedule.
> 
> Have a great week, everyone!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg I am so excited to finally get them to Vanya's place!

"I hope she still lives here," Diego mutters, knocking on the door.

Ben wonders how long it's been since Diego saw Vanya. For Ben and Klaus it's been eight years—they haven't seen her since Klaus ran away from the Umbrella Academy.

And then the door opens, and there she is. "Diego?" she blinks—obviously fairly shocked, but quiet about it, the way she always is. " _Klaus_?"

"Oh my god, _Vanya_!" Klaus sing-songs, sounding thoroughly delighted. He peels away from Diego to wrap her in a clingy hug.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asks, lifting her arms as though to reciprocate the hug but not quite closing them around Klaus. "Did something happen? Is Luther okay? And Allison? Pogo?"

"Yeah, everyone's fine," Diego says. "Except ... uh, can we come in?"

"Yes, of course," she says. Klaus is already over the threshold. Diego steps in, pulling the door shut behind him.

"So, Klaus needs a place to stay," Diego says.

Vanya looks wary. Which is natural.

"Oh, spinny," Klaus says, wobbling.

"What?" Vanya says.

"The room," Klaus clarifies.

Diego's in there right away, catching him. Dave tries too, but his hands pass through Klaus, which is natural if Klaus is in the process of fainting.

"Sorry about this," Diego mutters to Vanya, scooping Klaus up and carrying him over to her couch.

"What— Diego? What's wrong with Klaus?"

"How long have you got?" Diego mutters. He stretches Klaus out. Klaus's eyes flutter. Dave hasn't disappeared from Ben's point of view, so Klaus is clearly clinging to consciousness for the moment. "This should help," Diego adds, unzipping the duffle bag and pulling out the oxygen tank. He straps the mask over Klaus's face and turns on the gas. "Better, buddy?"

Klaus nods.

"Diego?" Vanya looks fairly alarmed now.

"He has pneumonia," Diego says. "He's getting better, but—you know he's homeless, right? And I can't keep him anymore where I'm staying, I'm not allowed to have people over and my landlord just found out."

"Diego..." Vanya's looking a little overwhelmed. "I haven't seen you in four years. I haven't seen Klaus since we were _eighteen_. Doesn't he have ... I mean, there are _shelters_ , right?"

"I'm not going back to the shelter," Klaus says from the couch. "Ben tried to get the social worker to put me in the nuthouse."

" _That's_ why you started sleeping on the street?" Dave asks, looking askance at Ben.

"I apologized for that," Ben reminds Klaus. "Also, Diego still doesn't believe that I'm here. You should probably stop mentioning me if you want him to think that you're sane."

Diego, indeed, is making a face. "He's been bringing up Ben a lot," he mentions to Vanya, like he's listing a symptom of Klaus's illness.

"Oh," Vanya says, with a little frown. "Sorry."

"I know he's a lot, but he's our brother," Diego says. "He's sick and hurt. I've already got him through the worst of the withdrawal, but if we put him out on the street he's definitely going to start using again. And his body _cannot_ handle that right now."

Vanya's eyes actually widen a little at the mention of withdrawal. It's possible that she hadn't really considered where the trajectory Klaus was on at eighteen will have taken him by now.

"What about—" Vanya says, "—if it's _that_ bad ... bringing him home?"

Diego pales. "Are you _serious_ , Van?"

"FYI," Klaus says, "if you try that I will jump out of the car, I don't care how fast it's moving."

"Never mind," Diego says, shaking his head. "We shouldn't have come here." He goes back over to the couch, like he's about to lift Klaus up and leave.

Ben sighs, and takes a last look around Vanya's place. It's been nice seeing her again, however briefly. Her apartment is tidy and quiet-looking, kind of dingy but dignified. There's a fireplace—that's classy, it must be quite an old building. The dining nook between the living room and the small kitchen has a little round table, with a typewriter sitting on it. There are some pages stacked next to it and a blank page in the machine—looks like Vanya's been doing some writing. Neat. Ben wonders if she might write a book, and if she does, whether he might ever get to read it. There are a lot of books around her place; it would have been nice to spend some nights here reading them. Oh well.

A _typewriter_. With a blank piece of paper in it. Wait a second.

"Klaus!" he calls out urgently. "Do the thing! The pencil thing!" He can't manage a more coherent instruction. He runs over to the typewriter.

"Huh?" Klaus says. " _Oh_. Diego, can you wait a second? I need to ... um ... fart. You should stand back."

"Do you need to go to the bathroom before we leave, buddy?" Diego asks, but he does back up a couple of steps.

Klaus draws his fists into the sleeves of his coat and screws up his face in concentration.

Diego and Vanya exchange a bemused look.

And Ben feels it—that subtle change in his own presence. Klaus is feeding him power.

He hovers his fingers over the keys. Hunt and peck, that's all he needs to do. One letter at a time.

**i**

"Guys, you should look at the typewriter," Klaus says.

**am**

"Huh?" Diego says.

"What?" Vanya says.

**here.**

"What the _fuck_?" Diego says.

"Oh my God," Vanya says. "Klaus, are you doing this? What's happening?"

**ben.**

He's not super happy with the lack of capitalization, but he really doesn't think he's up for working the shift key.

"It's not me," Klaus says from the couch. "It's Ben."

Diego and Vanya both stare at the typewriter like—not to put too fine a point on it—they've seen a ghost.

**i have been here all along.**

It's getting a little easier as he goes along. He still has to concentrate carefully on every keystroke, but he's able to go from one letter to the next pretty quickly.

"Ben?" Vanya whispers.

"How do we know it's really him, though?" Diego says. "Klaus could be doing ... something."

"Are you _kidding_ me?" Klaus moans from the couch.

Diego looks back at him, and does a double-take. "Hey! Your hands are glowing blue!"

"Okay, yes, yes, I am doing _something_ ," Klaus says. "I'm giving Ben the power to type. A little appreciation, maybe? This isn't exactly easy."

Dave is sitting on the couch next to Klaus, watching him with concern. Ben remembers that the pencil exercise in the afternoon wiped Klaus out pretty quickly.

Ben might not have much time, here. And he's _so_ close.

"Klaus!" Ben says. "Tell them to ask me something only I would know."

"Yes!" Klaus says. "Diego! You and Ben were tight when he was alive. You must have had some secrets? Just the two of you?"

"Ummm..." Diego looks blank.

Never mind. Ben's already thought of one. **the teddy ruxpin.**

"Huh?" Vanya says.

But Diego takes a shuddering breath. " _Ben_. Oh my God."

**i missed you guys so much.**

Diego is crying. He's standing very stiff, arms wrapped around his chest, staring at the typewriter, and tears are streaming down his cheeks.

Vanya hugs Diego, also staring at the typewriter. "Ben," she says. "Are you okay? Does ... does it hurt?"

**no pain,** he reassures them. **am okay. always had klaus.**

"Ben!" Dave calls out sharply. "Stop doing the thing! Klaus is bleeding!"

"What?" Ben says. He looks over. He doesn't see any blood, but Klaus is curled up fetal-style on the couch now, and he's shaking. His fists are still glowing. "I can't stop it," he points out. "Klaus has to stop it."

"Well, tell him to stop it!" Dave says.

"Klaus, it's enough," Ben says. "They believe in me now."

Klaus releases his fists with a soft gasp. The blue goes away.

Diego and Vanya, of course, heard none of this exchange. They're still staring at the typewriter.

"Ben, I'm so sorry I kept saying you weren't there," Diego says, sniffling. "I thought Klaus was just being—you know how he is. I mean, fuck, you must know him better than anyone, by now."

"Klaus, tell them you need help," Dave says.

"N-no, I-I'm fine," Klaus says, through chattering teeth. "I just n-need a m-minute."

"Huh?" Diego says, turning around. "Klaus? Are you okay?"

"S-still getting u-used to th-that t-trick."

Diego frowns, and swipes the tears away from his eyes. "Are you _cold_?"

Klaus nods.

"I'll get a blanket," Vanya says, and heads off to the back of the apartment.

"Klaus, move the mask so he can see the blood," Dave says.

"Wh-what b-blood?" Klaus asks.

"What blood?" Diego repeats—asking Klaus, not Dave, obviously.

"The mask," Dave repeats.

Klaus looks confused, but pulls the mask down under his chin. It leaves a smear of red.

"Uh oh," Diego says. "Vanya! Do you have some tissues?!" He looks around the room and answers his own question, snatching several from a nearby box. "Okay, I don't think it's too serious," he says, sitting next to Klaus and patting at his face with the tissues. "Your nose is bleeding a little. Here, lean forward against me and pinch your nose."

Vanya comes back with a blanket in her arms. "Oh, what happened?" she asks, eyeing the bloody tissues.

"Little nosebleed," Diego says. "Can you put the blanket around him?"

"S-sorry I couldn't g-give you longer," Klaus says, leaning against Diego. His voice is distorted by the shivering and the pinched nose. Vanya tucks the blanket around his shoulders, and then leaves again.

"No, it's okay," Diego says. "I'm sorry I never believed you. This is ... this is a lot to process."

"I was t-talking to Ben," Klaus clarifies. "H-he's really m-missed y-you."

"It's okay, Klaus," Ben says. "Really. Maybe we can try again tomorrow?"

"Do you think you'll be able to do it again?" Diego asks simultaneously, hopefully. "I mean, when you're stronger, maybe?"

"Hey guys?" Dave says. He's still perched next to Klaus on the couch, opposite Diego. "Am I missing something? Couldn't Ben talk with Diego and Vanya right _now_? He just needs Klaus to repeat what he's saying."

"Th-they never b-believe me wh-when we do that," Klaus says.

"Who doesn't believe what?" Diego says. "Huh?" And then—" _Oh_. Ben said something. You're talking to Ben. I _get_ it now."

Klaus shakes his head, still leaning against Diego. "N-not Ben. Dave."

"Dave's real _too_?"

Vanya's just come back into the room, and she's got a damp washcloth and a hot water bottle. "Who's Dave?" she asks.

"M-my future b-boyfriend from the Vietnam W-war," Klaus says.

"Um, okay," Vanya says, clearly not sure how to respond to that. "Here ... has the bleeding stopped?"

Diego gets Klaus to sit up and let go of his nose. No fresh blood appears.

"Okay, you should lie down," Diego says.

Dave gets out of the way, and Klaus sinks into a horizontal position—knees bent up, since the couch is too short for him to stretch out.

Vanya gives him the hot water bottle. "Here, tuck this inside your coat," she says.

Klaus does so, and gives her a grateful smile.

Diego takes the washcloth from Vanya and uses it to clean the blood off Klaus's face. Then he settles the oxygen mask back over Klaus's mouth and nose. "Better?"

Klaus nods.

Diego sits back—he's perched on the couch too, leaning against Klaus's angled knees. "So," he says. "Ben. Was with you all along. Wow."

"He's still here," Klaus points out. His eyes flick over to Dave as he adds, "You can talk to him if you want. If you're ready to believe me when I tell you what he says."

Vanya and Diego exchange a look which Ben isn't sure how to interpret.

And then Vanya says into the empty air (facing entirely away from Ben), "What was dying like?"

"He doesn't like talking about that," Klaus says instantly.

"You didn't even give him a chance to say anything," Diego objects, frowning. "That was just _you_ talking, Klaus."

"He's right, though," Ben says, hugging his arms around his belly _(where the tentacles used to burst out)_ , "I really don't."

"Ben says I'm right," Klaus reports.

Diego sighs. "Ben? If you're listening?"

"He is," Klaus interjects.

"You can see why we have some trust issues, right?" Diego goes on. He's facing Ben nearly correctly; he must have been paying attention to where Klaus has been looking when _he_ talks to Ben. "After you died, Klaus said a whole lot of shit that he said came from you, and it was _obviously_ just him running off at the mouth."

Klaus looks appropriately chastened. "Ben hated it when I did that."

"Klaus," Ben says, "for this to work, I think you've got to repeat what I say word for word. So they can tell it's really me. Can you do that?"

"Ben wants me to pretend I'm a telephone," Klaus reports to Diego and Vanya. "For him to talk through."

Ben face-palms. "You're _paraphrasing_."

"Huh?" Diego says.

Klaus rolls his eyes at Ben, turns back to Diego, and says, "Ben thinks if I promise to repeat what he says word-for-word, you'll be able to tell that it's him talking." He turns back to Ben. "Better?"

"Better," Ben nods.

"But how will we _know_ he's repeating you word for word?" Diego asks.

And Ben notices: Diego's addressing him directly, and talking about Klaus in the third person.

Which means, despite his evident doubts, Diego really does believe that he's talking to Ben.

Ben feels like he might start actually glowing from happiness.

"Maybe we could test it," Vanya suggests. "If Ben tells us something that Klaus wouldn't want us to know. And Klaus repeats it anyway. Then we'll know we can trust him."

"That could work," Diego agrees.

Ben tries to think of something appropriate. "When Klaus crashes at somebody's house," he says, "he'll brush his teeth with their toothbrush. Without telling them."

Klaus makes a face at Ben. But then he repeats it literally word for word, using the third person for himself and everything.

"Oh _ew_ ," Diego says. " _So_ glad I kept him handcuffed on my couch. Klaus, I'll _buy_ you a fucking toothbrush."

"But is that really something Klaus wouldn't have wanted us to know?" Vanya asks. "Remember when we were kids and he kept borrowing Allison's _retainer_?"

"The wire was so _shiny_ ," Klaus murmurs in happy remembrance.

"Can you think of something else, Ben?" Vanya asks. She's adjusted to the consensus direction, facing the same way as Diego and Klaus. So she's pretty much looking right at him now.

Ben thinks about it.

"Klaus still has nightmares about Dad locking him in the mausoleum, almost every night," he says. Keeping his voice even.

"What?" Klaus says. "No. Ben, we don't have to tell them _that_."

"Tell us what?" Diego asks, sounding interested.

"Klaus, you promised," Ben reminds him.

"But why are you talking about meeeeeeee?" Klaus whines, pulling the blanket up over his face. "Tell them about yooooouuuu."

"Klaus, your life pretty much _is_ my life," Ben points out with a restrained sigh. "And this is what I need them to know right now. You promised to repeat what I said. I want to talk to Diego and Vanya."

"What's Ben saying, Klaus?" Diego asks.

"He wants you to know I have nightmares," Klaus says from under the blanket.

"Klaus, put the blanket down," Diego says, sounding irritated. "Between that and the mask, I can barely hear you. What did you say?"

"Klaus, repeat my actual words," Ben insists.

"Okay okay _fuck_ ," Klaus says, lowering the blanket with a pained expression. "Ben says: Klaus still has nightmares about Dad locking him in the mausoleum. Almost every night."

"Oh," Diego says, looking genuinely upset. "Jesus." He gives Klaus's bent-up knees a hug. "That _sucks_ , man."

Ben isn't done. "He's been terrified of his power ever since Dad did that. When ghosts appear, they send him into a panic. The only way he's found to deal with it is by keeping himself constantly drunk or high."

"Ben, they _know_ all that," Klaus objects.

"I'm not sure they really do," Ben says. "And I'm going somewhere with this. Klaus, you promised to repeat my words for them. Come on: He's been terrified of his power..."

Klaus winces. "Ben wants me to say: I've—I mean, he's—been terrified of his power ever since Dad did that." He repeats the rest of the statement, obviously reluctantly.

"The drugs are killing him," Ben continues, looking at Diego and Vanya.

"No," Klaus says.

" _Yes_ , Klaus. Repeat it."

"Ben says: the drugs are killing him."

"I don't think he cares."

Klaus kind of squirms, like he thinks he might escape, but Diego's got him pinned with the hug around his knees.

"Say it," Ben insists.

"Ben says: I don't think he cares." And then Klaus glares at Ben. "But also, Ben is _wrong_. The drugs aren't killing me. They're the only thing keeping me going! I don't _want_ to die! It's the _ghosts_ that are going to kill me!"

"The ghosts can't really hurt you," Ben says.

At the same time, Diego says: "Beg to differ. The drugs were _definitely_ killing you."

"Klaus, repeat what I said," Ben reminds him.

"What?" Klaus glares at him. "Why should I repeat what you say when you're _arguing_ with me?"

"Because I want to be in the same conversation as Diego and Vanya," Ben says, at the same time as Diego says, "What did Ben say?"

"Aaaaagh," Klaus says, squinching his eyes shut and putting his hands on his ears. "Now everybody's talking at _once_."

"Would a talking stick help?" Vanya suggests.

Diego gives her a weird look. "A what?"

"It doesn't have to be a literal stick," Vanya clarifies. "It's just an object that we pass around, and only the person holding it is allowed to talk."

"I can't hold a stick," Ben points out.

"Ben says: I can't hold a stick," Klaus reports faithfully.

"What if everybody just raises their hand and waits their turn until Klaus calls on them?" Dave suggests.

"Oh, I like that!" Klaus says. "I'm repeating Dave now: I'm in charge, everybody has to raise their hand, I'll let you know when you can talk."

"Dave's in charge?" Diego says, looking confused.

"I still don't really understand who Dave is," Vanya says.

"Klaus, you didn't repeat him _accurately_ ," Ben points out.

"Chut chut chut chut!" Klaus shushes them all, one pointer finger raised in front of the oxygen mask in proxy to his lips, and the other one slowly tracking around the room, focusing on each living or ghost inhabitant in turn. "Hands."

Diego and Vanya raise their hands immediately; Vanya does it meekly, and Diego does it with an eye roll. Ben raises his, too, and reflects: he is _not_ used to having to wait his turn to talk.

"Vanya first!" Klaus says triumphantly.

"Who's Dave?" Vanya asks.

"He's a ghost who showed up a couple of weeks ago saying he knew me in the 1960s," Klaus explains. "Apparently I'm going to time travel there sometime ... later." He looks briefly disturbed. He probably hasn't thought much yet about that side of things, considering how messed up he's been ever since Dave's first appearance.

Diego waves his hand. Klaus nods at him graciously.

"Aren't you scared of ghosts, though?" Diego says. "What makes Dave different?"

Ben expects Klaus to say something flippant about how cute Dave is, but instead Klaus answers seriously. "The first time he appeared to me, he asked if I was okay and then he politely went away when I didn't want to talk to him."

"I remember how the ghosts overwhelm you," Dave says. "The last thing I'd want is to contribute to that."

"Hey, Dave didn't raise his hand," Ben objects.

"He gets to talk whenever he wants, because he says such _sweet_ things to me," Klaus says.

"Um, what's happening?" Diego asks.

"I think the ghosts are talking out of turn," Vanya murmurs.

Ben raises his hand, and looks pointedly at Klaus.

"Okay, okay," Klaus says. "Ben's turn."

"Vanya," Ben says, looking at her as he talks even though she won't hear his words until Klaus echoes them, "I know it's a lot to ask, but please can we stay with you? We have nowhere else to go."

Klaus repeats Ben's words accurately this time, but then appends an editorial comment: "That's not actually true, though. I always find places to go."

"We have nowhere _safe_ to go," Ben specifies.

"Oh, yeah, _that's_ true," Klaus admits, and then belatedly repeats the sentence he's agreeing with.

"Yes," Vanya says immediately. "Of course you can. I'm sorry I hesitated earlier, it was just all so _unexpected_...."

" _Thank you_ , Vanya," Diego says fervently.

"It'll be ... really good. To spend some time with Ben," Vanya says. And then her face goes a little pale as she obviously realizes what she just did. "And Klaus!" she adds, a shade too brightly.

"Okay, so we need to figure out where to put him," Diego says. "We need somewhere to hang the IV bag up. And something secure to handcuff him to."

Vanya gives Diego a startled look. "Um, _what_?"

"Otherwise he'll leave," Diego says. "Like he always does. He'll steal whatever money you have lying around and sneak away in the middle of the night."

"And yet Diego always took you in, every time you went running to him," Ben points out to Klaus. "He's either kind of an idiot, or kind of a saint."

"Ben thinks that Diego is either an idiot or a saint for taking me in all those times," Klaus reports. "FYI."

Ben winces. "I didn't actually mean for you to repeat that."

Klaus snickers. "Looks like you're gonna have to start _thinking_ before you speak, brother Ben! That'll be a change for you."

"The only place I can think of that might work is my bed," Vanya says—getting back to the question of where to put Klaus. "There's a high metal rail headboard. I guess you could hang an IV from it." Ben notices that she doesn't mention the handcuffs.

So they all go into Vanya's bedroom—Vanya leading the way and looking back over her shoulder a little doubtfully, Diego carrying the oxygen tank, Klaus leaning heavily on Diego, and Ben and Dave trailing behind.

Vanya's bedroom is small and neat and shabby, just like the rest of the apartment. It's dominated by a queen-sized bed, which does indeed have quite a high wrought-iron headboard. The duvet is beige; the room's walls are off-white and the curtains are light tan. Klaus, in his herring-bone pink and purple coat, seems to have entered the room from another dimension entirely. "Nice," he says cheerfully. "This looks comfy."

Diego sits Klaus down on the edge of the bed and helps him to take off the coat, and his boots. Vanya pulls back the covers, and Klaus climbs in, pulling them up to his chin.

"This'll work," Diego says, eyeing the headboard. He still has the clamp that he'd used to hang the IV bag from the pipe back at his place; he uses it now to hang the bag from the highest point on the headboard. Then he shows Vanya how it attaches to the tube still leading into Klaus's hand. "The rest need to go in the fridge," he says. "You can change it when it gets empty. Mom said to come back tomorrow and tell her how he's doing, so I'll maybe get more then."

"Mom," Vanya repeats, her eyes widening. "You've been to see Mom?"

"I didn't know what else to do," Diego says.

"What about Dad?"

"I've managed to avoid him so far." Diego, meanwhile, has brought out the handcuffs.

Klaus eyes them. "Normally, I'd be totally into this," he says. "If you weren't my siblings, that is. But I don't think I'm ready to lift my arms that high yet."

"Don't worry, buddy, I've got you covered," Diego says mildly, and brings a sturdy length of chain out of the duffle bag. Looping it around a rail of the headboard, he puts one side of the handcuffs through the two loose ends, and the other side around Klaus's right wrist. "Like locking up a bicycle," he declares, stepping back and admiring his work.

Vanya looks like she's having some real doubts about the whole situation, but she just says, "What about when he needs to go to the bathroom?"

Diego looks around the room and then puts the handcuff key on the window ledge, out of Klaus's reach. "He's okay if you take him once in the morning and once before bed," Diego says, like he's explaining how often she should walk a puppy. "He'll need your help getting there anyway; he's not really steady on his feet yet."

"Dave and I can help," Ben mentions. "Tell her, Klaus."

Dave nods his agreement.

"Ben and Dave say they can help," Klaus echoes obediently. "They've _been_ helping."

"Huh? How?" Diego says.

"We figured out that Ben and Dave can touch me if I want them to. Well, it's a little more complicated than that, but ... anyway. Ben carried me to the coffee shop. And they've both been helping whenever you take me up the stairs."

" _Jesus_ ," Diego says. "This is ... you know, it's a lot to take in." He looks vaguely into the air. "Thanks for the help, Ben. Sorry I didn't believe you were there, before."

"It's okay," Ben says. And then he clears his throat and looks pointedly at Klaus.

"Ben says it's okay!" Klaus says. "Aaaagh this is getting old already. We should practice more with the typewriter tomorrow."

"Okay," Diego says. "Ummm, here's the note Mom wrote me with all the instructions." He hands it to Vanya. "You should try giving Klaus some soup tonight before he goes to sleep. If you have some. He hasn't thrown up for a couple of days, but you still might want to keep a bucket by the bed just in case." He starts edging away towards the door. "So, I kinda really need to get back to the gym and make sure I'm not evicted."

Vanya looks a little lost. "All right," she says. "See you tomorrow?"

"Yes, definitely," he promises—and is gone.

"Um," Vanya says, looking at Klaus. "Okay."

Klaus extracts his handcuff-hand, which is also his 'hello' hand, from under the blanket, and gives her a finger-wiggling wave and a kind of dopey smile. "Hey Van. So. How've you been for the past eight years?"

She looks at him, scrapes her hair back from her forehead, and gives a little helpless laugh. "Quiet," she says. "My life has been quiet."

"You still in touch with anybody else from the old gang?"

"Allison and I exchange Christmas cards," Vanya says. "Do you want to see a picture of her baby?"

Klaus shrugs. "I saw the spread in Vogue."

"Oh," Vanya says. There's a long, awkward pause. "Do you want some soup?" she offers into the silence.

"No thanks," Klaus says.

"Yes you do," Ben contradicts him immediately. "Tell her, Klaus."

Klaus rolls his eyes. "Ben says I want soup. But he doesn't actually have any relevant ghostly powers that justify him trying to tell me whether I'm hungry or not."

"I have the power of remembering how long it's been since you ate," Ben says. "Dave? Back me up, here."

Dave lifts his hands in a surrender gesture. "I think this is technically none of my business," he says. "But yeah, Klaus, it probably would be good if you had some soup."

"Okay," Klaus says, blinking up at Vanya. "The ghosts are unanimous. A little soup before bed."

* * *

Supper is accomplished without difficulty. The soup Vanya provides is a hearty-looking roasted squash and carrot one, and Klaus eats the entire bowl.

"See?" Ben says mildly. "You were hungry."

"Whatever," says Klaus, like the fourteen-year-old he is at heart.

But Ben is really happy with the improvement he's seeing in Klaus's state. Klaus's hand didn't shake at all while he was eating the soup. He's coughing less. And he seems clear-headed—to an extent that Ben has rarely seen.

Counting back, Ben realizes that it's been four days since Klaus has had any alcohol, and more than five since he's had any opioids. Even without whatever Mom put in the IV to ease his symptoms, Klaus would be through the worst part of the withdrawal by now.

In his adult life, Klaus has never gone this long without drugs. He did spend four days unconscious in the hospital once, after the worst of his ODs, but when he woke up he totally freaked out (lots of ghosts in a hospital) and they ended up sedating him. And even so, he escaped from the hospital the next day and managed to get more drugs in the space of an hour.

And here he is: four or five days sober. And he coped with Fadi's ghost, he coped with the boxer, and he's outright _befriended_ Dave. He has a safe place to stay, with someone who won't offer him drugs.

Ben feels a glimmer of an unusual emotion: _hope_.

* * *

Dave pops back into the room a little while after Klaus finishes eating. He'd vanished while Vanya was cooking. "Diego's okay," he reports. "Al yelled at him some more when he got back, but it looks like he's all bark."

Vanya's in the bedroom too; after she finished eating her own supper, she came in to sit with Klaus. "Did Ben say something?" she asks, apparently picking up on the shift in Klaus's body language that meant he was listening to somebody.

"No, Dave's back and he says Diego is okay," Klaus says.

"Oh." Vanya blinks. "That's nice of him to check. Tell him thanks?"

"He can hear you directly," Klaus reminds her.

"Right." She looks around, as though she'd be able to see anybody other than Klaus in the room. "This is a bit uncomfortable," she mentions. "Knowing that there's a stranger in my room."

"Klaus, I would love to get to know your sister a little," Dave says. "Would you be up for helping out with my part of the conversation? Or do you need to rest now?"

"Yeah, yeah, I can handle it," Klaus says. And then to Vanya: "Dave would like to chat."

* * *

Dave was born in Dallas, Texas, in 1945. He played baseball as a child, and football in high school. "I wasn't very good," he confesses ruefully. "But the coach was friends with my dad."

He had a little sister, three years his junior. Their birthdays were a week apart. The year Dave turned eight and his sister turned five, they were given, respectively, a golden retriever puppy and a calico kitten. The animals adopted each other as siblings and best friends, and spent the next decade getting into all sorts of trouble together. The cat was always the instigator, apparently; the dog just went along with it.

By this point in the story, Vanya's sitting at the foot of the bed. Ben's sitting up next to Klaus. Dave is standing, shaping his story with his hands as he tells it.

Klaus is getting pretty good at repeating what Dave says word-for-word. Dave helps him out by pausing after every phrase.

The dog died the summer Dave was eighteen. Just a few months before he joined the army. "That was the saddest I've ever been," Dave recalls softly.

The cat outlived Dave.

"I love cats," Klaus declares. "They can see the dead."

"Seriously?" Dave says, at the same time as Vanya cocks her head and says, "Really?"

"No they can't," Ben says to Dave. "Klaus, tell Vanya."

"Ben says they can't," Klaus reports. "He is a boring skeptic."

"I _am_ dead," Ben points out. "Cats don't pay any attention to me." He's had this argument with Klaus before.

"Right," Klaus says. "That's the greatest thing about them. They see ghosts, and they just don't caaaaaare." He breaks off in a giggle. And then adds, "Vanya, you should get a cat!"

"I don't want a cat," Vanya says, quite reasonably. "Anyway, aren't you still allergic?"

"So, _so_ allergic," Ben mutters. It's been an issue, some places they've crashed.

"Ben doesn't want a cat because he finds my incessant sneezing annoying," Klaus says to Vanya.

Ben ghost-punches Klaus's shoulder—and to his surprise, makes contact.

"Ow!" Klaus says, glaring at him. "What was that for?"

"Sorry," Ben says, blinking at his own fist. "I didn't expect to actually _hit_ you. Did you know you were making yourself solid to me?"

Klaus shrugs. "Not consciously. Maybe I was hoping for a cuddle. Why did you _hit_ me, Ben?"

"Because you're _interpreting_ what I say to Vanya, you're not _repeating_ it."

"Ben is upset again because I'm interpreting what he says instead of repeating it word-for-boring-word," Klaus reports to Vanya.

"I'd like to hear what Ben is actually saying," Vanya says politely.

"Right, because you two were always the _two_ most boring siblings," Klaus sighs. And then he catches himself. "No, Luther was more boring."

"Klaus, stop being an asshole," Ben says, keeping his tone mild with an effort. "It's been nine years since I last got to talk to Vanya. The only way I can talk to her is through you. Please, _please_ will you just repeat my boring words?"

"Okay, okay," Klaus says, and turns to Vanya. "Ben actually just said that I am, quote, 'so, so allergic.' To cats." He rolls his eyes and—to Ben's surprise—shuffles over a little and leans against Ben. "Glad we got that settled," he murmurs.

The corner of Vanya's mouth quirks up. "Remember the time Allison snuck a kitten into the mansion?"

Ben laughs. "That's how we found _out_ he was allergic." And then he pokes Klaus, until Klaus repeats it. "It wouldn't have been so bad if he wasn't borrowing her clothes all the time," he adds, and makes Klaus repeat that, too.

Dave, meanwhile, has raised his hand. When Klaus waves a go-ahead at him, he says, "Did Vanya just say, _mansion_?"

So, that requires a little unpacking.

Mysterious, magical, simultaneous births. Eccentric billionaire adoptive father.

Vanya, Klaus and Ben all contribute parts of the story. Whenever Ben says something he makes Klaus repeat it. Klaus keeps protesting that this is pointless because Vanya's the only one who can't hear Ben, and she already _knows_ how they grew up. But Ben insists.

"So what's your superpower?" Dave asks Vanya.

Klaus winces, but does repeat the question before answering it—"She doesn't have one."

"I'm just ordinary," Vanya shrugs.

"Maybe you just haven't figured out your power yet," Dave suggests. "I mean—if you were born in that weird way, like all the others, there must be _something_ going on with you."

Klaus repeats Dave's words, but then responds to them: "I don't think so, though. The rest of us felt our powers bursting forth from us when we were kids, like it or not. Little Van was just a dud." He looks at Vanya apologetically. "Ordinary's not so bad, anyway," he offers her. "At least you're not a homeless junkie. Or dead."

"Hmm," Vanya says. Not exactly agreeing or disagreeing. And then, tilting her head and frowning, "Klaus, how are you not falling over?"

"I'm leaning on Ben."

For the past minute or so, Klaus's slouch against Ben has been getting more and more profound.

It feels nice. Like evenings when they were teenagers, and Klaus would come into Ben's room—tipsy or drunk—and melt against Ben, chattering aimlessly, while Ben sat on his bed and did his homework.

"Isn't this going to make you more tired, though?" Ben asks.

"Ben asked if it's going to make me more tired," Klaus reports—without even needing to be reminded. Ben appreciates that. "Legit question," Klaus adds. "We're still figuring out this new powers thing. I think this one gets easier with practice, though." And then he yawns. And coughs.

"I think it's time for you to go to bed, Klaus," Ben says.

Klaus repeats Ben's words, and doesn't disagree with them. Ben realizes that this is the longest Klaus has been awake and active since he first became seriously ill. He really must be doing better. No need to push it, though.

"Right, I'm supposed to let you go to the bathroom," Vanya recalls, frowning at the chain. "Um, just a minute..." She gets the key from the window ledge, and unfastens the handcuffs. "Do you need me to help you up? It's just the next door down the hall, between here and the kitchen."

"Ben will take me," Klaus says.

Ben isn't 100% certain that he can manage this—up until now, it's been Diego doing the heavy lifting, and Ben or Dave just giving extra nudges here or there for balance.

And technically, it's not _Ben_ who has to manage it, it's _Klaus_.

But Klaus seems confident, and Vanya's bathroom is only about ten feet away. Klaus might even be able to make it on his own, at this point. "Okay," Ben says.

And it's fine. Klaus manages the walk in a sort of drunken shambling stagger, leaning against Ben and giggling. It's funny—it's been so long since Ben has seen Klaus sober, he'd nearly forgotten that Klaus was like this even when he _wasn't_ high.

Klaus eventually gets back to the bed, hangs the IV bag up on the headboard again, puts the oxygen mask back on and collapses with a grateful, coughing moan. Vanya picks up the handcuffs, squinches her forehead in a thoughtful frown, and then shakes her head and tugs the chain loose from the headboard. "Klaus, I'm not handcuffing you to my bed," she says. "Just ... no. Please promise not to steal my money and run away in the middle of the night?"

"Promise," Klaus says immediately, looking up at her with sincere doe eyes.

"Klaus, I like your sister," Dave says.

"Uh huh, she's great," Klaus agrees—and then remembers to repeat what Dave said.

Vanya gives Klaus a muted smile. "Hey, cover your eyes for a minute?" she adds. "I've got to get changed." And then she hesitates. "Where are Ben and Dave, exactly?"

"Ben's your brother and Dave's super gay," Klaus informs her flippantly. "They don't care if you put on your pajamas in front of them."

"Um, I'll go into the living room for a bit," Dave says.

"Yeah, me too," Ben says.

"What did they _actually_ just say?" Vanya asks, patiently. She's clearly catching on.

"They're going to the living room," Klaus says.

"So, Vanya really seems nice," Dave says to Ben as they walk away.

"Yeah, I feel bad about how we always pushed her away when we were kids..." Ben says, and then notices that Dave isn't beside him anymore.

Or at least—Ben can't see him anymore.

Ben goes back to the bedroom, to see if Klaus has just passed out. Not that there's anything Ben could do about it, if he has.

But no. Klaus has his hands over his eyes, and he's chatting with Vanya about Allison's red-carpet dress from the Oscars last spring. She was hugely pregnant at the time, so she got a lot of attention from the press.

And Vanya's just unbuttoning her shirt. Ben accidentally catches a glimpse of her bra. He winces and backs out the door.

He goes back in when Vanya pokes her head out, says "All clear," and goes to brush her teeth.

"I can't see Dave when I'm not in the room with you," Ben announces to Klaus immediately.

"Huh?" Klaus says. "Oh. I guess that makes sense."

"Does it?" Ben asks. "Klaus, there is _so much_ we don't understand about your power."

"We can work on it in the morning," Klaus yawns. "I'll tell him to come back here now."

"You'll ... what?"

Dave appears a moment later, looking bemused. "Klaus, are you doing something? I'm feeling a ... kind of a _tug_. Towards you."

"Yeah, I wanted you to come back," Klaus murmurs. "Ben couldn't see you in the hallway. You'll have to say good night in here."

"I didn't know you could do that," Dave says. "It's a little ... huh. Disorienting. Like you're the literal center of the universe and if I let go, I'll just fall towards you."

"Klaus, is that something you're _doing_?" Ben asks.

Because Ben has always felt like that. Ever since he died.

"I dunno," Klaus says vaguely. It seems like he's already halfway to sleep.

"Hey," Vanya says, stepping back into the room. "So, uh, if you need anything tonight, just shout. I'll be sleeping on the couch."

"What?" Klaus says, forcing his eyes open again—with effort, it looks like. "Vanyayaya, this is _your_ bed."

"I wouldn't put you on the couch," Vanya says. "You're sick. And you need somewhere to hang the IV."

"It's a big bed," Klaus says. "We can share. I don't snore. Or kick."

"He doesn't snore," Ben confirms. "But FYI, he does kick sometimes. Because of the nightmares."

Klaus give Ben a baleful look, but repeats his assertions.

"Klaus," Vanya says hesitantly, "would you _like_ me to sleep in here?"

"Uh huh," Klaus says. "But only if you're okay sleeping with the lights on."

Vanya gives him a look which is thoughtful, and a little sad. "Sure, okay," she says. "I'll stay with you."

"Thanks, Vanvan," Klaus murmurs, relaxing and closing his eyes. "Good night sleep tight."

Vanya climbs into her bed on the other side. She tugs the covers up to her chin. "Good night, Klaus," she says. "Good night ... Ben?"

"Good night, Vanya," Ben returns with a soft smile.

"Ben-says-good-night-Vanya," Klaus mumbles in a trailing-off tone.

"Thanks, Klaus," Ben whispers. And starts looking through the books lying on Vanya's bedside table, choosing which one to read.


	9. Chapter 9

Klaus sleeps all morning, and Vanya plays the violin.

Ben doesn't follow her out into the living room, because he thinks that being there with no way to let her know would feel too much like spying on her. But he can hear her easily from the bedroom.

She's really good.

She wakes Klaus up at noon. Dave doesn't become visible in the room, so Ben guesses he must actually be somewhere else.

"Do you want soup again?" Vanya asks Klaus. "Or pasta?"

Klaus chooses the pasta, which makes Ben feel pretty happy. Klaus must be starting to feel a lot better.

"So..." Vanya says, "do you think, while I get lunch ready, you might be able to take a shower? It's just that you're ... um, kind of a little smelly."

"Mmm, yes," Klaus says. "If your sensibilities call for it, sister dearest, I shall make the effort."

"Diego came by first thing this morning and dropped off some clean clothes and a toothbrush for you," Vanya adds. "I left them in the bathroom."

"Okay," Klaus says. "Ta ta."

"Klaus," Ben says as soon as she's gone, "are you actually up for this?"

"Possibly not," Klaus confesses. "But if little mousy _Vanya_ is moved to tell me I stink, I'd probably better do something about it." He lifts his head and calls out, "Dave?!"

Dave wanders into the room a moment later, looking casual. Like he's just their roommate, and he was hanging out elsewhere in the apartment. "Yeah?"

"My sister wants me to take a shower. Can you come with and prop me up?"

Now Dave looks surprised. "Oh," he says. "Are you ... sure? That you want me to do that?"

"The other option is Ben, and that would just be embarrassing for both of us," Klaus points out. "You and I were fucking in Vietnam, right? We've seen each other naked?"

A complicated look passes over Dave's face. A kind of fondness tinged with grief. "We didn't get a lot of chances, strictly speaking," he says. "But yeah."

"Okay, it's settled then," Klaus says, and starts detaching the IV bag from the tubing.

* * *

Klaus and Dave are in the bathroom together for nearly twenty minutes, and Ben stays in the bedroom, trying not to worry.

He kind of can't believe that he's just handed off care of Klaus to another _ghost_.

Dave seems nice. And he seems to care about Klaus, driven by his memories of their past-to-him, future-to-Klaus relationship which might never even happen along this timeline.

But he's also some guy they just met, and a _dead_ one at that. He hasn't been watching over Klaus for _nine years_ , learning to anticipate and redirect Klaus's most self-destructive moves in a kind of ghostly aikido. What's even in Vanya's medicine cabinet? Will it occur to Dave to try to distract Klaus's attention away from it?

Ben doesn't bite his nails—it's not a habit he ever had, even when he was alive—but he feels like he _should_ be by the time Klaus and Dave come back.

Klaus is back in the Che Guevara shirt and skinny black jeans he'd been wearing when Diego first took him in. He's always had a knack for stealing clothes that fit him and look good on him. This outfit is actually pretty pedestrian by Klaus standards, but compared to the baggy borrowed clothes from Diego that he's been wearing, it makes him look sharp. Not so much like an invalid.

Dave is supporting Klaus, but it doesn't look like Klaus is leaning on him too heavily. They make it back to the bed—on which Vanya has changed the sheets, while Klaus was showering—and Klaus flops.

"Okay?" Dave asks, stepping back.

Klaus nods, and reaches for the oxygen mask.

"Don't forget to reattach the IV," Ben says. The plastic tubing is looped several times around Klaus's wrist.

Klaus sighs. "Yeah, yeah, in a minute."

And then Vanya comes in, carrying a small bowl. "Hi," she says.

"Vanya, you don't have any eyeliner!" Klaus says immediately, accusingly.

She blinks. "Um, no. I don't wear makeup."

So Klaus _did_ look through her medicine cabinet. Shit. Ben hopes he didn't find anything he'd want to take.

"You should start," Klaus says. "Or at least buy some so that I can borrow it."

"I can buy some _for_ you, if you want," Vanya offers. "We're not at home anymore. Dad's not going to take it away from you." And then she holds up the bowl she's carrying. "Here, your lunch is ready."

"Ohh, and I just lay down," Klaus moans.

"Sorry," she frowns. "Do you want me to set it aside for later?"

"No, it's okay—Dave, help me up," Klaus says.

With Dave's help, Klaus gets himself propped against a pillow, leaning against the headboard. He pulls the oxygen mask off again, and Vanya hands him the little bowl of pasta.

"The IV," Ben reminds him.

"Oh, right," Klaus says. "Vanya, could you hook me up to my life-sustaining mystery fluid, please?"

Ben crosses his arms and glares at Klaus.

"Oh, _right_ ," Klaus says. "FYI, Vanya, that was Ben reminding me about the IV."

"Okay," Vanya says. She looks around the room, vaguely. "Hi Ben. Hi Dave." And then she climbs up on the bed beside Klaus and kneels by the headboard, hooking him up. "The ghosts can't do this bit?"

"Getting them to touch me is a lot easier than getting them to touch other things," Klaus says. "Well, Ben's pretty clumsy. I haven't tried with Dave yet." He starts eating the pasta.

"Ben couldn't do any of those things back when you were still living at the Umbrella Academy, right?" Vanya says, taking a seat at the foot of the bed. "I mean, I guess we would have believed you about him being there, if he could have."

Klaus shakes his head. "We've figured out a lot of new stuff in the past few days. Dunno why it's all suddenly coming out now."

"Because for the first time in nine years you're not drunk or high," Ben suggests.

"Oh, it's been more than nine years," Klaus says.

Vanya looks confused. "What's been more than nine years?"

"Since I've been this sober."

"Klaus, you're supposed to repeat what I say when Vanya's around," Ben reminds him ( _again_ ), scowling with frustration.

But meanwhile, Vanya's frowning. "Klaus, that's _awful_ ," she says.

"Ben, I'm _eating_ ," Klaus says, ignoring Vanya and shoving another forkful of pasta in his mouth.

"Well, can we try the typewriter thing again?" Ben asks.

"Maybe wait until Klaus is done with his lunch?" Dave suggests. "Last night the typewriter trick pretty much did him in."

"I think it might be easier if it's closer to me," Klaus says.

" _What_ might be—you're talking with Ben, or Dave, aren't you?" Vanya realizes.

"Both of them," Klaus confirms. "Hey Vanvan, Ben really wants to talk to you and I'm not super duper in the mood to be a human parrot. Would you bring the typewriter in here and put it next to me?"

"Um, sure," Vanya says.

She goes away, and comes back a minute later carrying the heavy machine. She sets it down on the bed next to Klaus's knees, but with the keyboard facing away from Klaus.

"Oh wow, okay," Ben says, and sits cross-legged in front of it.

"Is he here?" Vanya asks Klaus.

"Ready, Ben?" Klaus says. He puts the bowl down on his lap and clenches his fists. He frowns, and hunches his shoulders. His fists start glowing, very faintly.

**i am here.** It's the same phrase he typed first thing last night. His first words to any living person other than Klaus in nine years. He gets a happy shiver just thinking about it.

Vanya gives a little gasp, staring at the paper. "Hi, Ben," she says.

"How do you feel, Klaus?" Ben asks quickly. " _Is_ it easier, with the typewriter being closer to you?"

"Yeah, definitely," Klaus says. And then remembers to repeat Ben's question for Vanya. "Actually ... could you try something, Ben?" he adds. "Just, like, put your left hand on my leg? And type with your right?"

"Hm, okay," Ben says. He reaches out, and finds Klaus's knee solid under his hand. With just his right index finger, he types: **vanya, i liked listening to your music.** "Does that make a difference?" he asks, looking back up at Klaus.

Klaus's hands aren't glowing anymore. "Yeah. _So_ much easier, that way," Klaus says. "Just keep doing that. I'm going to finish my lunch."

Huh. Okay. Typing with one finger is pretty slow, but if it means that he gets to have an extended conversation with Vanya without giving Klaus another nosebleed, he'll take it.

"I wondered if you might be listening, this morning," Vanya says, sounding pleased.

**nice that you kept it up.** Ben remembers being annoyed by Vanya's playing when they were kids together, but with the wisdom of hindsight he knows that he was just jealous that she got to practice a musical instrument while Ben and the others had to do grueling physical training and go on dangerous missions.

"I didn't just keep it up," Vanya says, bemused. "It's how I earn my living."

"What is?" Klaus asks. "What are you talking about?"

"Ha," Ben says. "Shoe's on the other foot now." **don't tell him.**

Vanya seems confused. "You don't want Klaus to know I'm a musician?"

"Oooh, with the violin? Nice," Klaus says. "I loved listening to you play when we were teenagers."

"You did?" Vanya looks surprised. "You never said."

"So are you in, like, an orchestra?" Klaus asks.

Vanya shakes her head. "I'd like to be, but I haven't managed it yet. I'm teaching beginners at the conservatory, and I'm in a small ensemble that performs at private functions. In the summer when the weather's good, I busk sometimes."

"Like, on the street?" Klaus asks. "How did we never see you?" He looks at Ben. "How did we never see her?"

**where did you play.** He can't manage a question mark; it needs the shift key.

Vanya gets it anyway. "Down by the waterfront, where all the tourists are."

**we never go there. too upscale for us.** It's actually kind of unsatisfying insulting Klaus without Klaus knowing, so Ben reads his own words aloud.

Klaus gives Ben the finger. "Souvenir t-shirts and bus tours aren't upscale, Ben. They're tacky."

"The tourists tip well," Vanya says mildly. She looks down at the paper. "Wait, how did you know what he wrote?"

"He told me," Klaus says. "He never misses a chance to let me know how much he disapproves of my lifestyle."

Ben frowns and jabs at the typewriter keys. **i hate most of the places he goes. they're dirty and dangerous and depressing. it sucks watching him destroy himself. i am so fucking tired of being so fucking scared for him all the time. please don't tell him what i'm writing.**

"Um," Vanya says. "Ben, could you move over?" She eases into the space in front of the typewriter, moving hesitantly enough that Ben's easily able to get out of her way. She hovers her fingers over the keys, thinks for a moment, and then types: **That sounds really hard.**

"What are you doing, Vanya?" Klaus asks. "Ben can hear _you_ when you talk."

"I want to have a private conversation with him," Vanya says. And types: **Has it always been this bad?**

Since he's one-finger-typing anyway, Ben's no worse off accessing the typewriter from the side. **there are not-as-bad times and very-bad times. it's never good. he was alcoholic even before i died.**

Vanya frowns, and writes: **I remember him sneaking drinks sometimes. I didn't think it was as bad as that.**

"Are you guys kiiiidding me?" Klaus whines. "You're just totally shutting me out. You realize this is only even _working_ because I'm pouring power into it."

"You said it's easy as long as I'm touching you," Ben reminds him.

"Let your brother and sister have their conversation," Dave says. "It's been a long time since they've been able to have one, right?"

Klaus sighs, and then pats the space next to himself. "Sit with me and keep me company while they ignore me?"

Smiling a quirked little smile, Dave settles in next to Klaus. Klaus leans against him and takes another forkful of pasta. "Go ahead," he says around the bite, waving his fork at Vanya and Ben. "Have your super exclusive special conversation without me."

Ben rolls his eyes at Klaus and types: **he hid it. i only realized how much when i started haunting him.**

**Has he ever tried to get help?** Vanya types.

**he goes into rehab sometimes when he realizes he needs a safe place to rest for a while. he keeps using in rehab, just less. he's very sneaky. he doesn't want to get sober. because of the ghosts.**

Vanya thinks for a moment, and then types: **But he's sober right now, right?**

**because he got so sick, and then diego handcuffed him. but yeah. it's been 6 days. he's handled some ghosts okay and we're figuring out all these new things he can do with his power. vanya i really think things might get better this time. and you and diego finally know that i'm here. and i can talk to you. it is such a relief. you can't even imagine.**

**I really can't,** Vanya types. **You must have been so lonely. I'm so sorry.**

**it wasn't that bad,** Ben qualifies immediately, out of loyalty. **i always had klaus.**

Vanya: **But he was always high?**

Ben shrugs before typing: **sometimes he's out-of-it high, but sometimes he's just fun-high. the fun-high times are good. and there are times when he's coming down but he hasn't hit the bad part yet, and he's pretty much just himself. those times are good too. and the rest of the time, as long as he's near some books, i'm okay.**

Vanya wrinkles her nose and types: **You can read books???**

Ben: **yes. only if they're near klaus.**

Vanya: **That's strange. How near?**

Ben isn't quite sure how to answer. **mostly just in the same room. not an exact science, though.**

"Oh," Vanya says out loud. Does she look a little ... relieved? And then she says, "Oh my God. _Dave_??!!"

Ben's been pretty focused on Vanya and the typewriter. He hasn't looked up at Klaus in a while. He does now, following Vanya's gaze, and he sees that Klaus and Dave are straight-up making out.

And Vanya is staring at them in shock.

They break off their kiss, and turn towards her. "Sorry, that probably looked a little weird," Klaus says. "Dave and I were just—"

"I _saw_ him," Vanya interrupts, wide-eyed. "I saw Dave."

"What, really?" Klaus blinks. "I don't think that's possible. I can make ghosts see other ghosts, but my powers only work on ghosts. And I definitely didn't do anything to you, Vanya."

Ben types: **what did you see.**

"Klaus was kissing a man," Vanya says. "The man was kind of glowing and blue and see-through."

"Huh," Klaus says, looking taken aback. "Ben, did you see anything like that?"

"I just saw you and Dave kissing," Ben says. "No blue glow."

"You know, I think I maybe felt something," Dave volunteers. "I mean, I thought I was just happy and excited, but..."

"Ben saw Dave normally without the blue glow," Klaus remembers to report to Vanya. "Dave felt something, but he thought it was just that he had a hard-on for me."

"That is not _exactly_ what I said," Dave murmurs, blushing.

"Welcome to my life," Ben mutters.

"Van, what do you see now?" Klaus asks.

"Just you," she says. "No ghosts."

"I think we should experiment," Klaus says to Dave. "Let's kiss again. For science!"

From Ben's point of view, Dave gives Klaus a tender smile and leans in toward him. Klaus lifts his chin, loops his hands behind Dave's head and pulls him in.

And then they kiss. The way people do. The way Ben has never, actually, done.

After a moment, Vanya says, "I see him again!"

**describe what you see,** Ben types.

"Yeah, he's pretty see-through," Vanya says, squinting. "More like a blue outline than a solid shape. Um, I think he's white, maybe mid-twenties, short curly hair. I think he might be a little taller than Klaus, but it's hard to tell with them sitting down. He's wearing ... a fringe vest? and bell-bottoms?"

**he enjoyed haunting the disco era** Ben types.

Dave breaks away from the kiss, finally. "Well, that's settled," he says. "Your sister can definitely see me."

"And now he's gone," Vanya says.

Ben frowns. "So, it _only_ works when you're making out?"

"The practical applications may be limited," Klaus says.

"Yeah, I don't think this is going to do _me_ any good," Ben observes a little glumly.

"Just because it happened for the first time accidentally when we kissed doesn't mean Klaus can't learn to control it," Dave points out. "Remember all the other stuff you've learned how to do over the past couple of days?"

"Dave and Ben are talking, aren't they?" Vanya says.

"Yeah, they're speculating about this new development," Klaus says.

"This is, wow," Vanya says. "I can see how this would be pretty exciting for you. Discovering all these new powers." There's something a little bitter in her tone; Ben supposes this is probably still a sore spot for her. She never believed him and Klaus when they insisted that they'd rather not _have_ powers. "Anyway, I have to go to work now. I've got students this afternoon. Can you think of anything you need, before I go?"

Klaus shakes his head, and hands her the empty bowl. "Thanks for lunch."

"There's more in the fridge, if you get hungry again," she says. "I'll be back around six." And then she unwinds the paper from the typewriter. Standing, she carefully folds it up and puts it in her pocket. "Klaus..." she says, a little hesitantly. "Promise not to steal my stuff and run away while I'm gone?"

"Promise," Klaus says, wide-eyed innocent.

"Okay," she says. She starts to leave, but turns back at the doorway and says, "And I promise I'll buy you some eyeliner."

Klaus beams at her.

* * *

Ben can hear Vanya moving around in the living room, presumably getting ready to go out.

Klaus lies down, and puts the oxygen mask back on.

"How are you doing?" Dave asks him.

"Kinda tired," Klaus says. "Not like yesterday, though."

"So are you two a thing now?" Ben asks.

Klaus raises an eyebrow at him. "What, are we all in middle school? One kiss means we're going steady?"

"There were a _few_ kisses," Dave murmurs. He looks fairly pleased.

Ben doesn't know what to make of this.

Klaus doesn't _date_ people, not really. He finds people who will give him things for sex. Drugs, food, a place to stay for a little while. Bonus points if he also finds them attractive, but it's not a prerequisite.

And Klaus is highly allergic to the idea that anybody might think that he's _theirs_. If a sex-for-food-and-shelter arrangement starts going too well, if the other person involved starts making noises about how this is a nice thing that they'd like to continue doing, if they (worst of all) say something about maybe falling in _love_ with Klaus—Klaus is out of there.

Out in the living room, the sound of the front door closing confirms Vanya's departure.

"One Mississippi," Klaus says. "Two Mississippi."

"What?" Ben says. "Oh, no. No, Klaus. No."

"Huh?" Dave says. "Am I missing something?"

"Three Mississippi, four Mississippi," Klaus continues, ignoring both Ben and Dave.

On twenty Mississippi, Klaus sits up. He peels the tape away from the IV attachment on the back of his hand, and then gently pulls the tube free. Blood wells up, and he quickly slaps the tape back over the hole in his hand. Then he lifts the oxygen mask off over his head, and leans over to carefully shut off the tank.

"Klaus?" Dave says. "What are you doing?"

Ben is too furious to speak.

Klaus swings his legs over the side of the bed, gathers himself for a moment, and then stands.

"Where are you going?" Dave asks, looking a little concerned. "Do you need to go to the bathroom?"

Klaus shuffles down the hall, trailing one hand lightly along the wall.

"Not the bathroom," Dave concludes as they pass that door. "The kitchen? Are you thirsty?"

Ben suspects that Dave understands what's happening, but that he's not ready to acknowledge it yet.

When Klaus sits down on the floor near the front door to pull on his boots over his bare feet, Ben tries to bat his hands away from the laces. His hands pass right through Klaus's ankles, insubstantial.

"That doesn't work if I don't want it to," Klaus says, rolling his eyes.

And Ben finally finds his voice. "Klaus, you fucking promised. You promised Vanya _thirty seconds ago_."

"I'm not stealing anything," Klaus says. "And I'm not running away. I'm just going out for a little bit. Score a few pills. She won't even know I was gone. You don't have to come if you don't want to."

"Oh, Klaus, this is a bad idea," Dave says, sounding worried. "You're not strong enough."

"I'll take it slow," Klaus says. "She's not coming back until six." He finishes with the second boot and stands up, slowly and laboriously, holding on to the back of the couch for balance. His coat is slung over the couch; he reaches for it.

Ben plants himself in front of the door. "Klaus, think this through," he pleads. "You're doing _so_ well. The crappiest part of the physical withdrawal is _over_. You've got more control over your power than you've _ever_ had, and you're learning more every day. You've got me and Vanya and Diego _and_ Dave to support you. There aren't even any other ghosts _in_ here, but if one shows up, we'll help you. Dave helped you with the boxer, right? I know you're in pain, I know your power sucks, I know your life sucks, but it could be _better_. If you stay here, if you go back into the bedroom right now, your life will get _better_. If you go out there, Klaus, everything's going to go to hell again, and I'm not sure you're ever going to make it back."

Klaus just shakes his head, and fastens the coat. "Sorry, Ben-ben," he says softly. "I can't be the brother you want me to be. I just can't."

Ben clenches his jaw and sticks his hands out in front of him. "I'm not letting you leave."

Klaus wrinkles his nose. "I _just_ went over that. You can't stop me."

"I can if you want me to," Ben says. "Even if you don't _know_ that you want me to. Like when I carried you to the coffee shop. I don't think you really want to die, Klaus."

"Don't be such a drama queen, Ben," Klaus says. "I'm just popping out for a bit to score some oxy." And he steps forward. Into Ben.

Ben's hands don't stop Klaus, and he feels a moment of despair.

Followed by a moment of extreme shock and disorientation, when suddenly he's facing the door instead of facing Klaus, he's wearing Klaus's coat, he feels warmth and gravity and oh, fuck, _everything_ hurts.

He gasps, and starts coughing, and can't stop. And each breath feels like his ribs breaking.

He stumbles against the wall. The hand that reaches out is Klaus's hand.

He is Klaus.

No, he's _in_ Klaus.

And somehow, with a sense that he couldn't possibly name, he feels Klaus fighting him.

Ben is riding Klaus's body. And Klaus wants him to stop.

What the _hell_ is going on?

Ben finally manages to catch his breath. He looks around wildly. He can't see Dave. Maybe Klaus's power isn't transferable.

Vanya's apartment smells like vanilla.

Ben can _smell_. He hasn't smelled anything in nine years!

It's a little overwhelming.

And the _pain_ , fuck.

His ribs hurt. His head hurts. There's an achiness to all his joints. Something heavy in his chest catches every time he breathes, and none of the breaths feel like _enough_.

( _deep inside him he feels Klaus thrashing, desperate, trying to push him away_ )

Ben is in Klaus's body. What's he going to do with it?

What was he doing? What was Klaus doing? How did this happen?

Klaus was leaving. Klaus was trying to leave the safety of Vanya's apartment, because he's a short-sighted idiot and a self-destructive addict. Ben was going to save him; Ben _is_ going to save him. Ben has always wanted to save Klaus from himself and now he _can_ , because now, for as long as he can hold on, he _is_ Klaus.

Ben does what he wanted Klaus to do: he walks back down the hallway, to the bedroom.

( _Klaus is fighting it, fighting him._ )

The steel chain and the handcuffs are piled on the floor next to the bed. The handcuff key is on the window ledge.

Ben retrieves the key. It's so easy to pick up. His fingers are so nimble. The texture of the key is so sharp and specific, and the metal is cold against his fingertips.

He goes over to the bed. He gathers up the chain and the handcuffs.

( _Klaus's fighting gets wilder. Ben's not sure how much longer he can hold on._ )

Ben climbs onto the bed. He loops the chain through the rails of the headboard, unlocks the cuffs, fastens one side through the two ends of the chain and the other side around his own (Klaus's) left wrist.

He throws the key as far as he can, to the back corner of the room. It falls behind Vanya's laundry basket.

And that's all he can manage. As the key falls, Ben loses his grip and slides _out_ of Klaus, an indescribable sensation.

Ben is himself again. He feels no pain, no warmth, no sense of gravity other than the constant, low-level tug towards Klaus.

Klaus is lying on the bed, eyes wide as saucers, staring at Ben.

Dave has just appeared at Klaus's side. He looks up at Ben, aghast. "What did you _do_?" he demands.

And then he vanishes again, as Klaus starts shaking.

Not just shaking. _Seizing_. His neck arches back, rigid. His arms and feet thump against the bed in a fast, juttery rhythm.

"Klaus?!" Ben calls out in a bit of a panic, kneeling at his side. He tries to grab Klaus's arm, but his hand just passes through it. "Klaus, I'm sorry! Shit, what's happening?"

The seizure lasts maybe ten seconds. It feels like forever.

Then Klaus goes limp.

Ben can't check Klaus's pulse. That's not a thing he can do. But he can lie next to Klaus and watch his breaths very carefully.

In, out. In, out. Slow and gentle.

Ben is scared. He's not sure if he just saved Klaus, or broke him.

He wishes he'd been able to at least get the IV needle back in, or get the oxygen mask on. But there wasn't time. And now Ben can't touch anything in the world.

All he can do is lie next to his brother, the person he loves (and hates) more than anyone in the entire world, and watch him breathe.

In, out.

He'll be okay. He has to be okay.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The notes at the _start_ of this fic were updated (a while ago, but after the original posting date) to include a trigger warning for a brief discussion of suicidal ideation. I'm repeating it here, since some folks may not have seen the updated note and this is the first chapter where it applies. Stay safe, everyone! *hugs*

Klaus wakes up with a groan after about fifteen minutes.

Ben feels weak with relief. "Hi Klaus," he says.

Klaus gives Ben a wild look. "What the _fuck_ was that?"

Dave's back too, and he's glaring at Ben. "Ben, what did you _do_?"

"What did you see?" Ben asks him, because frankly he's not even sure how to answer those questions.

"You went _into_ Klaus," Dave says. "And then I couldn't see you anymore, but—Klaus changed."

"Because I was Ben!" Klaus yells, irate. "My ghost brother fucking _possessed_ me!" He yanks at the chain that links him to the bed. "And then fucking _chained me up_!"

"You were about to get yourself _killed_!" Ben yells back. "What was I supposed to do, just stand by and let you?"

"It's my fucking body!" Klaus shouts. Then he has to cough, but when he catches his breath he just keeps shouting: "My choice, Ben! And I wasn't going to get killed, I was just going on a _little_ walk to find a _nice_ dealer."

Ben shouldn't even be engaging with Klaus on this. He knows he shouldn't. Because Klaus is _incapable_ of being rational on the subject of the danger of his addictions, that's the whole reason they're here in the first place. And Ben has already won—Klaus is handcuffed to the bed. And yet, Ben can't let it go. "I've just _been_ in your body!" Ben says. "Everything in it _hurts_ , Klaus! Your ribs are broken, your head is pounding, you _still_ have a fever, and your lungs are full of gunk! You shouldn't be out of bed! And you _definitely_ shouldn't be getting fucked up on street drugs!"

Klaus lets out a bitter laugh. "News flash, Ben: I _know_ how much fucking pain I'm in, thank you very much! A little oxy would have helped a _lot_ with that."

"And how were you even planning to get anything?! You don't have any money!" Does Ben even want to know the answer to this question? Probably not. It's just another useless point to score. He's right, and Klaus is wrong, that's the important thing.

"Um, guys? Klaus? Ben? If you could both stop yelling, for a bit?" Dave interjects. "I still don't really understand what _happened_."

"Ben _possessed_ me!" Klaus repeats, irately.

"Yes, you said, I saw, but—how? Did you guys _know_ he could do that? Has he done it before?"

"Uh, no," Ben admits, reluctantly allowing himself to be distracted from his extremely well-justified haranguing of his idiotic, self-destructive brother. "Never."

"How did you do it?" Dave asks.

"I don't know." Ben frowns at his own hands, as though there might be a clue there. "I just did it."

"Klaus, did you do something to make it possible?" is Dave's next perfectly reasonable question. "Like when you give us the power to see each other, or touch you?"

" _Fuck_ no," Klaus says. "I fought it with everything I had. Ben, I can't fucking believe you _did_ that to me!"

"Can other ghosts do it?" Dave asks.

Klaus and Ben both stare at him.

Klaus looks horrified.

"Oh, _shit_ ," Ben says.

Klaus starts wildly rattling the chain against the rails of the headboard. "Get me _out_ of here!" he begs. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuuuuuuuuk..." trailing off in a high-pitched wail, and curling up in a ball.

"Klaus, shhhh, it's okay," Dave says, crouching down so his head is level with Klaus's. "I didn't mean to panic you. I just wondered if it _had_ ever happened before. If it hasn't, you probably don't need to worry about it."

Klaus's wail gets quieter, but he doesn't uncurl.

"Dave, can we talk for a second?" Ben whispers, and beckons Dave over to the far corner of the room.

Dave gives Klaus a worried look, but follows Ben.

"It's never happened before," Ben confirms in a whisper. "But that doesn't mean we're in the clear. When I did it, it felt like ... yeah. Probably another ghost could do it. I don't think any have ever _tried_."

Dave frowns. "We're going to have to deal with this," he says in a soft undertone. "Somehow. But I don't think Klaus is ready for that yet."

Ben nods his agreement.

Dave goes back over to Klaus. "Klaus, honey," he says—and then catches himself. "Sorry. I mean, Klaus."

Klaus uncurls a little to give Dave a sniffly smile. "You can call me honey," he says.

"Okay," Dave says. "Honey. You need to get the oxygen going again and get your IV back in."

"But what if a ghost _attacks_ me?" Klaus asks, his voice wavering.

Twenty years of terror, justified. Ghosts _aren't_ harmless.

"There aren't any in Vanya's apartment," Ben promises. "We've been here for nearly a day, and none of us have seen any."

" _You_ stay away from me!" Klaus snaps at him. " _Fuck_ , Ben."

"Ben is sorry and he won't do it again," Dave says. "Klaus, the oxygen."

"I'm _not_ sorry," Ben feels the need to clarify. He's used to Klaus putting words in his mouth; he doesn't need Dave starting up with it.

Dave gives him a quelling frown. "Yes you are."

Ben steps back with a stubborn shrug. He does feel bad about the seizure, but Klaus came through it okay. And it's not great that they have a new thing to worry about—wild ghostly possession—but honestly, isn't it better to know about a danger than to be ignorant of it? And the important thing is, Klaus is still safe in Vanya's apartment.

So then Ben just stands aside, accepting Klaus's occasional glare without comment. Dave talks Klaus through getting the oxygen going again, but they're defeated by the IV; the needle required for insertion was discarded days ago.

After that Dave holds Klaus's hand and tells him lighthearted stories from the 1970s, distracting him from his fears until he falls asleep.

* * *

Klaus sleeps all afternoon, and wakes when Vanya gets home.

"Hi Klaus," she greets him, entering her bedroom. "How was your ... uh, afternoon?" She stares at Klaus.

Who is, of course, chained to her bed. With his outdoor coat and boots on.

"Hey, Vanvan," Klaus says, giving her a sleepy finger-wiggling wave. "I'm a bit tied up. Can you help me out?"

Vanya frowns. "Did Diego come back?" It's a reasonable question.

"No," Klaus says. "Not while I was conscious, anyway. Does he have a key to your place? Oh, I bet he can pick locks. No, I _know_ he can pick locks. Never mind."

"Did you lock _yourself_ up?" Vanya asks, wisely ignoring Klaus's rambling.

"Yes and no," Klaus says. "That's a surprisingly ambiguous question. Vanya, could you please unlock me? I would kinda like to go to the bathroom."

"Okay," Vanya says mildly. "Where's the key?"

Klaus lets out a long, deep groan. "I have noooo idea."

Dave looks expectantly at Ben.

It is, honestly, tempting to just leave Klaus locked up for a little while longer. Ben feels so much more secure when Klaus is locked up.

But maybe he really does have to go to the bathroom.

"It's on the floor behind the laundry basket," Ben says.

Klaus barely even looks at him—just bares his teeth in a quick glare—and says to Vanya, "It's in the corner over there. According to Judas Iscariot."

Ben rolls his eyes. "Klaus, I didn't _betray_ you. It was for your own good."

"Judas thought he was betraying Jesus for his own good, too," Klaus says with a scowl. "He had a whole song about it."

"Um." Ben sticks his hands in his pockets. "You're thinking of the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical."

"What else would I be thinking of?" Klaus asks.

"Oh hey, I saw that one!" Dave says.

Vanya stands up with the key in her hand. "Klaus," she says, "there's a whole conversation happening, isn't there?"

"Yes, but I don't want to repeat it," Klaus says. "I'm mad at Ben."

"Mad at _Ben_?" Vanya seems to find the idea baffling. Ben hopes that's because she remembers him as an extremely reasonable and supportive sibling.

"He _violated_ me," Klaus says.

Ben cringes. "Klaus, don't say it like that. Yuck."

"Well, how the fuck would you describe it, brother dear?"

Vanya, meanwhile, is unlocking the cuffs. "Okay, um, anyway, you can go to the bathroom now," she says. "Klaus, I got you eyeliner, like I promised. It's in the bathroom."

"Vanya, you're a doll!" Klaus chirps, and kisses her cheek. She backs away, looking discomfited, while Klaus swings his legs over the edge of the bed and says, "Dave? Help me up?"

So Klaus makes his wavering way out of the room—after detaching himself from the oxygen once again.

When he's gone, Vanya says into the empty air, "Ben, if you're still in here? I know you can't talk to me right now, but if we have a chance later, I'd like to know what all that was about."

There's no point in responding—she won't hear. But Ben does appreciate her reaching out.

* * *

Diego arrives while Klaus is still in the bathroom. Vanya gives him an awkward little hug of greeting at the door. Ben wishes he could greet Diego too, but it gives him a warm feeling when Diego immediately asks, "Is Ben here?"

"Probably," Vanya says. "I think Dave took Klaus into the bathroom."

"Hi Ben," Diego says into empty space.

"Hi," Ben returns, pointlessly, feeling a goofy grin settling on his face (that nobody will see).

It's not long before Klaus emerges from the bathroom. Dave's at his side, but not actually holding him up. Klaus has availed himself of the eyeliner; his eyes are carefully rimmed in black.

"Hey, buddy," Diego greets him with a smirk. "You look like a freak. But just, like, in your usual way, not in the one-and-three-quarters-feet-in-the-grave kind of way."

"I understand," Klaus says. "You're reluctant to acknowledge my hotness, because we're brothers."

"Sure," Diego says. "Tell yourself that." And then he gives Klaus a careful, gentle hug. "You're feeling better? You look better."

"Better every day," Klaus says, but he makes it sound like he's ironically quoting a tacky inspirational poster. He allows Diego to guide him back to the bedroom. Everybody else follows.

Diego takes it upon himself to unlace Klaus's boots and remove them for him before Klaus lifts his feet back onto the bed. The coat isn't in sight; Klaus must have left it in the bathroom. "So, I went to see Mom," Diego says while he does this. "She says, now that you're keeping food down, you don't need the IV anymore. She gave me some pills for you."

"Pills?" Klaus repeats, perking up.

"Antibiotics," Diego clarifies sternly. "Don't get excited."

"Boo," Klaus mutters.

"She says you can start weaning yourself off the oxygen, too," Diego adds. "Just use it if you're having trouble catching your breath, or if you get lightheaded. And while you sleep, for the next few nights anyway."

Dave raises a hand. "I have a question."

"Uh huh?" Klaus says. And then remembers to gloss for Vanya and Diego: "Dave's talking."

"I get that you all want to stay away from your asshole father," Dave says. "But why doesn't your mom come here?"

"Dave wants to know why Mom doesn't come here," Klaus reports. "Who wants to field this one?"

"She would if she could," Diego says. "I think she's worried about you, Klaus. In her own way."

"I'm not sure how to explain Mom to Dave," Vanya confesses.

"She's not programmed to leave the house," Ben says.

Dave looks at Ben, obviously confused. "What does _that_ mean?"

Diego, meanwhile, nudges Klaus's leg. "Your eyes are tracking the air. Ben and Dave are talking, aren't they? You're supposed to tell us what they say."

"Even when they're talking to each _other_?" Klaus whines. "I'll lose my voice."

"Let them use the typewriter," Vanya suggests. It's still on the bed from the conversation at lunch time.

"Ben's not allowed," Klaus says. "He's on a time-out."

Ben gives Klaus a sharp look. "Hey! That's not fair."

"Oh, what's _fair_ , Ben? Taking over my body and chaining me to the bed wasn't _fair_ , I'm pretty sure."

"What?" and "Huh?" Vanya and Diego's confused reactions are nearly simultaneous.

So that takes a lot of unpacking.

The events following Vanya's departure in the afternoon get explained, eventually. Klaus is not especially eager to explain the _context_ in which Ben possessed him, but he lets it slip while he's expressing his outrage over the _fact_ of the possession.

Diego immediately backs Ben up (and mildly rebukes Vanya for leaving Klaus unlocked in the first place). Vanya, somewhat to Ben's discomfort, seems to think that what Ben did was over the line.

Eventually, annoyed with being constantly badgered to repeat things, Klaus agrees to let Ben use the typewriter.

Actually, he agrees to let both Ben and Dave use it, but then it turns out that Dave can't; even when he's holding hands with Klaus and Klaus swears he's feeding him all the necessary power, Dave's jabbing fingers keep sliding right through the keys.

"Maybe you just need to practice," Ben suggests.

"Okay, but later," Dave says. "You use it for now."

Klaus insists that the typewriter be set up facing him this time, so that Ben can't talk behind his back. Ben wants exactly the opposite, but Klaus gets the final say since the typewriter trick won't work without his active consent (plus, Klaus, Dave _and_ Vanya are now in agreement that Ben owes Klaus an apology for the possession-and-handcuffing event; conceding on the typewriter question is a way for Ben to avoiding facing that).

"I think Ben should try possessing Klaus again," Diego says, once they're all set up around the typewriter. Klaus and Ben are sitting side-by-side. Ben's right leg is hooked over Klaus's left, and this seems to be enough contact to make the power-transfer easy; Ben's able to touch-type with all ten fingers now, which is a huge improvement. Diego is immediately to Klaus's right, and Vanya is to Ben's left. Dave is sitting facing the rest of them, leaning over to read the typewriter paper upside down when necessary.

"Et tu, Brute?" Klaus murmurs, giving Diego an appalled look and drawing away from him as much as possible given that he's actually trapped right now between Diego and Ben.

"No, I mean—if you're worried about how it works. If other ghosts might try it. You should experiment with it."

 **Diego has a point,** Ben agrees, taking a moment to appreciate his own expert use of the shift key. **Klaus, you know I won't hurt you. If there's a way to fight it off, you have to find it. Before some ghost really attacks you.**

"I'm not so sure that's a great idea," Dave says, after reading Ben's words upside down. "What about that seizure he had, at the end of it?"

Ben looks at Klaus. "Are you going to repeat him?"

"How about you do it," Klaus says, gesturing at the typewriter.

Ben bites back a comment about Klaus's laziness. Actually, Klaus has already sunk back kind of heavily against Diego. He's not using the oxygen at the moment, and he's coughing periodically.

Klaus is acting loose and bratty, and it's easy to interpret that as him feeling okay. But Ben was _in_ his body a few hours ago (as per their current discussion) so he knows that Klaus is still in constant, significant pain.

So, okay. Ben types, **Dave says: I'm not sure that's a great idea,** etc, sharing the whole quote.

And then he adds, **Me now: I agree, we shouldn't try again until Klaus is stronger.**

"How about we don't try again until Klaus _consents_ to it?" Klaus suggests acerbically.

 **How about you don't try to run away and get high,** Ben types.

"Okay, let's take a vote," Klaus says. "Who thinks that what I put in my body is Ben's fucking decision?"

Ben raises his hand immediately. So does Diego.

"That was fucking _rhetorical_ ," Klaus clarifies. "Also, your side loses. Thanks Vanya."

Vanya shrugs. "I really think it's better if you stay sober. But we can't force the issue by holding you prisoner indefinitely."

"Not indefinitely," Diego says. "Just until he's healed up. Vanya, you didn't see how sick he was when he found me. He is _not_ going to survive another round of that."

"Okay okay," Klaus says. "This is boring. I'm a prisoner until the cough goes away, deal. I won't try running, because I don't want to find out what Ben will do to me if he takes over my body again. Should we talk some more about our robot mom?"

Dave blinks. "Did you just say _robot_?"

"Yeah," Klaus confirms, while Ben types another **Dave says:** line. "That's the key fact my sibs failed to convey earlier. It's why she never leaves the house."

"How can your mom possibly be a robot?"

Klaus shrugs. "Our father is an eccentric billionaire with very poor people skills. Why wouldn't he build a robot to raise his children? Anyway, she was a much better parent than he was. She gave us _names_."

"She what?" Dave says.

So that needs some unpacking, too.

They spend the next two hours explaining their terrible childhoods to Dave.

Well, some tiny fraction of their terrible childhoods, anyway. To explain it all would take days. Ben would have to write a _book_.

"I was _writing_ a book," Vanya says abruptly, when Ben types that remark. "That's what the typewriter was for."

"About our childhoods?" Diego asks, sounding suddenly wary.

"About mine," Vanya says. "But yes." She looks a little anxious. "I wasn't planning to tell you until it was done. Well, I wasn't expecting to see you at all before it was done."

The stack of papers that had been sitting next to the typewriter when Ben first saw it. Ben makes a connection, suddenly. **Is this why you acted weird when you found out I can read books?**

Vanya gives an unhappy little nod. "I've been working out some ... feelings. About my childhood. And my agent really likes all the parts where I air the dirty laundry. She says that's what will make it sell."

"You can read _books_?" Dave asks, looking at Ben in surprise.

"Vanya, what did you _write_ about us?" Diego asks simultaneously, unaware he's talking over Dave. His voice is strained, like the old stutter is close to breaking out.

But Klaus is laughing. "Lay off her, Diego. Why shouldn't she finally get something out of that whole train wreck?" He pats her arm. "Write whatever you want, Vanya. I'll even do an interview for it, if you'd like me to! Pretty sure I can help you ramp up the shock value. That sells books, right? I don't remember how many overdoses I've had, but Ben's probably been counting."

 **Eight,** Ben types, frowning.

"Shit, buddy," Diego says a little faintly. Ben knows that Diego had only been aware of three of them. "You know that's not good, right?"

Klaus shrugs. "Every one's a valuable learning experience about dosages!"

Ben hunches his shoulders. **This is what I'm talking about,** he types. **He doesn't take it seriously.**

"Ben, if I took my life seriously, I'd have to kill myself on _purpose_ ," Klaus says. "And then where would you be?"

"Klaus," Dave says sharply, "don't do that."

"Do what?" Klaus says.

"Say things like that. I know you don't mean it, and you're worrying your siblings."

Ben hunches over the keyboard typing **Dave said:** (etc.) quickly, in order to catch up to the conversation.

Mom was the one who'd suggested touch-typing lessons, at some point when they were in their teens. Ben and Vanya were the only siblings who'd practiced enough to get really good. They'd try to outdo each other, fingers flying while Mom timed them.

"Dave, you don't know us very well," Klaus is saying. "They don't worry. I say fucked-up things and they ignore me. We have a groove."

Ben starts typing Klaus's words, too, so that the conversation will make sense on paper.

 **Me now:** he types after 'We have a groove.' **Klaus, I worry about you CONSTANTLY.**

"Oh, I didn't mean you," Klaus says to Ben. "Obviously."

Ben glares at him.

"Klaus, if I wasn't worried about you, I wouldn't have used the handcuffs," Diego points out.

"Mmmmmm kay," Klaus says. "Enough of this. Dave had a question about how Ben can read books."

"Don't change the subject, Klaus," Ben says.

Klaus waits a moment, expectantly. "Oh," he says. "Aren't you going to type it?"

But meanwhile, Klaus's distraction has already worked on Vanya. "Dave can't read?" she asks.

"Well, I can _read_ ," Dave says, a bit defensively. "But I can't pick up books. Ben, is that what you're doing? Turning the pages? How do you manage that when you have so much trouble picking up a pencil?"

Ben looks at Klaus. "We'll go back to the other thing later," he promises.

And then he sets himself to typing Dave's questions as fast as he can, before starting to answer them.

 **I don't pick up the actual book,** he explains. **I pick up a ghost copy.**

"Can you show me?" Dave asks.

"Sure," Ben says. "Klaus, can you just tell Diego and Vanya what's happening, while I do this?"

"Yeah, okay," Klaus agrees, lolling his head against Diego's shoulder. "Ben's getting up and climbing over Vanya," he reports. "He's picking up Gloria Steinem's autobiography off her bedside table. Oh, I see what you're doing there, Vanya—genre research!"

Vanya and Diego look puzzled. "Nothing's happening," Vanya says.

Dave's eyes, however, are wide. He obviously can see the duplicate copy of the book in Ben's hands. "And you can read it?" he asks.

Ben opens to a random page in the middle somewhere, and reads a few sentences out loud.

"Ben's catching Dave up on iconic feminist history," Klaus narrates, not very helpfully.

"May I try?" Dave asks.

Ben nods. "Of course." He tries handing the book over to Dave.

As soon as it leaves Ben's hands, it disappears.

Dave looks crestfallen.

"Oooh, fizzle," Klaus says.

"Huh?" Vanya says.

While Klaus finally gives his living siblings a better explanation of what just happened, Ben climbs back into his place in front of the typewriter, between Vanya and Klaus. He hooks his leg around Klaus's again, and types: **I think I had to learn how to do that. After I died. I couldn't, at first.**

"I remember," Klaus says. "You were so _cranky_ about not being able to read! You complained about it a _lot_."

"I would _love_ to be able to read," Dave says. "I used to haunt bookstores waiting for somebody to buy one of the Dune sequels, and then I'd follow them home, hoping they'd start reading the book so I could read over their shoulder. I managed to get through about half of Dune Messiah that way. It was pretty frustrating. I gave up after a while."

"I can only do it around Klaus," Ben says. And then remembers he has to type up Dave's whole statement.

"I could drop by a used bookstore tomorrow and see if I can find a copy of that book for you, Dave," Vanya says once she's read it all. "If you want."

"That would be amazing," Dave says. "Except I still can't pick up books."

"Well, you'll have motivation to keep trying," Ben says encouragingly— _while_ he types Dave's words for Vanya and Klaus, yes, he's gotten that good at multitasking. "And if it doesn't work, maybe one of us can read it to you." After he finishes saying it, he types it.

"I would help with that," Vanya offers.

Dave grins. "Vanya, you're really sweet!"

"Aw, Vanya, Dave thinks you're sweet," Klaus says, saving Ben the need to type it.

"Thanks, Dave," Vanya says graciously. She turns to Diego. "Hey, I forgot to tell you earlier—I _saw_ Dave this afternoon."

Diego furrows his brow. "What do you mean, 'saw' him?"

So _that_ requires a bit of explanation. And then, naturally, a demonstration.

Ben switches places with Dave. Dave and Klaus exchange goofy little grins, and then start to kiss.

To Ben, nothing special happens. But he can tell that Dave is manifesting visibly when Diego lets out a yelp of shock.

Vanya, who's seen this already, asks curiously, "What does it feel like, Klaus?"

Klaus breaks off the kiss and turns to Vanya. "You still haven't kissed anybody? Oh, Vanyaya."

Dave, meanwhile, is playing with Klaus's hair, with a fond look on his face.

Vanya wrinkles her nose. "That's none of your business, Klaus. But I meant—does he feel like a ghost? Or a person?"

"Mmm, definitely a person," Klaus says, returning his attention to Dave. He delicately traces the line of Dave's jaw with his thumb, smiling.

"Huh," Diego says. "He was there, and then he was gone, and now he's kind of ... flickering."

"It's too bad we can't see Ben this way," Vanya says, sounding a little sad.

"Never say never, Vanvan," Klaus says.

Ben gives him a look. "I am _not_ making out with you."

Klaus rolls his eyes. "Obviously. But I've been paying attention to how it feels when they can see Dave, and—here. Try?" He holds out his hand.

Wary, but with a subtle flare of hope, Ben reaches out and takes Klaus's hand.

The contact feels solid. He can feel the warmth of Klaus's skin, the knobby bones of his knuckles.

"Okay, just hang on," Klaus says, and closes his eyes.

Ben doesn't feel anything.

And then ... maybe he does? A kind of zingy tang, like the taste of a battery, except Ben can't _taste_ anything, he hasn't since he died.

Klaus opens his eyes. They're glowing blue.

Vanya gasps.

"Oh my God," Diego breathes.

Both of them are looking straight at Ben.

"Hi," he tries saying.

Vanya shakes her head. "If you're saying something, we can't hear you," she says.

" _Ben_ ," Diego says, his voice cracking. He reaches out a hand to Ben.

Ben expects his own hand to go right through Diego's, but he returns the gesture anyway. To his pleased surprise, their hands clasp firmly.

Diego's hand feels sturdier than Klaus's. There are callouses, and his fingers feel strong.

Diego lets out a choked sob.

Vanya reaches for Klaus's free hand, and for Diego's.

Ben feels Diego squeezing the fingers of his left hand, while in his right, Klaus's hand is trembling a little.

Vanya is gazing at Ben, wide-eyed.

Diego is weeping.

"Time," Dave says. "Time!"

Ben follows Dave's gaze back to Klaus, and sees a trickle of blood creeping down his upper lip from his nose.

"Let go, Klaus," Ben says softly, tugging his hand away. "Thanks for doing that."

Klaus blinks, and the blue glow vanishes from his eyes. He sinks against Diego, shivering.

"Oh, the nosebleed again," Diego says, swiping the tears from his eyes. "Klaus ... _thank you_."

Vanya extracts a kleenex box from under her bedside table and hands Diego a wad of tissues to use on Klaus. "I'll get the hot water bottle," she says.

* * *

There doesn't seem to be any ongoing bleeding, so they get Klaus to lie down, cuddling the hot water bottle, and they give him the oxygen mask.

Not long after, Diego says he has to leave—but he promises to return the next evening.

"I need to make supper," Vanya says. "It's late already. Will you be okay in here on your own?"

Klaus laughs a little, through the mask. "The three of us will be fine," he says.

"Okay," Vanya nods. "Just call if you need anything."

"That was amazing," Ben says softly, as soon as she's out of the room. "This whole evening, with Vanya and Diego. It almost felt like I wasn't even dead."

"Klaus, does it hurt you when we kiss?" Dave asks. He looks worried.

"Hm? No. Why would it? You're not a biter."

"The, uh, nosebleed," Dave clarifies. "And the shivering."

"Ooooh, right. I'm not totally sure, but I think that was because of Ben and Diego holding hands. That really took some extra oomph."

"Oh, sorry," Ben says, wincing.

"No, no, it's okay, totally worth it," Klaus says. "Did you see the look on Diego's face?"

The memory fills Ben with warmth. "Klaus ... thank you _so_ much," he says.

Klaus makes a face. "Are you ready to apologize yet for subverting my bodily autonomy earlier?"

The honest answer is: not really. For once Ben actually got to stop Klaus from fucking himself up, and he has no regrets. "I'm sorry if being possessed was scary, or painful, for you," Ben allows. That much he can say without reservation. "What _did_ it feel like, anyway?"

"It didn't hurt," Klaus says. "Not while you were in me, anyway. The entrance and exit were a little rough. While you were in me, I was just ... a passenger. It was like I was in the back of a taxi and you were the driver and instead of taking me to the party at Club 69 like I'd asked you to, you were taking me to the _library_ , and no matter how hard I yelled and pounded on the plastic divider you wouldn't listen to me."

"Huh," Ben says. "You realize, Klaus—that's pretty much been my existence for the last nine years. Except I always asked to go to the library and you kept bringing me to the club."

Klaus blinks. "Oh, that must have sucked. I'm sorry."

Ben lets out something between a laugh and a sob. Because that is just so _Klaus_ —the total oblivious failure to consider Ben's point of view for years at a time, and the instant gentle, ego-free empathy when he finally does.

"What was it like for you?" Klaus asks Ben, as a follow-up. "When you were me."

"Uh, actually it did hurt," Ben says. "Because your body's a _mess_. But at the same time ... it was amazing. I felt _everything_. Like every nerve in my body was laid bare. I wish I'd had time to touch more things. The blankets, the curtains—and oh my God, Klaus, the _smells_. Vanya's apartment smells like vanilla, have you noticed? I wish I could've gone into her kitchen and smelled all the spices."

"Well, I mean, maybe we could do it again sometime," Klaus says.

Shocking Ben completely.

"Really?" he manages to not quite squeak.

"If— _if_ —you wait for permission. No more non-consensual possession, Ben. That was not cool."

And oh, Ben really wishes he could just agree. The promise of having a body again—even if it's only borrowed, even if it's only temporary—is so amazing.

But frankly, he can't borrow Klaus's body if it's dead in a ditch. "Do you promise not to run away from Vanya's?"

"Oh, come on Ben, I already _said_ that I wouldn't," Klaus whines.

"You said you wouldn't try because you knew I would stop you," Ben reminds him. "That's not the same thing."

Klaus makes a stubborn face. "We can't stay here forever."

"Sure," Ben acknowledges. It's probably true. Although Ben really, really wishes that they could. "But ... at least until you're healthy again."

"Or until Vanya evicts me," Klaus points out. "Whichever comes first."

"Okay," Ben says. He has no control over Vanya's choices, but he _thinks_ she'll let Klaus stay for as long as he's sick.

"Deal," Klaus says. And then he looks over at Dave. "Will you want a turn too?" he asks, but there's a little hesitation in his voice—like he feels obliged out of politeness to make the offer, but he's really not sure if he wants to.

Anyway, Dave immediately shakes his head. "No," he says. "I wouldn't ask that of you."

"Okay," Klaus says, and he sounds relieved.

Ben feels a little judged. "Klaus, we don't have to do it either," he says quickly. "If you really don't want to."

"No, no, it's okay," Klaus says. "You and I are practically the same person anyway."

Dave lets out a little snort of laughter that sounds involuntary.

"I mean, except for our attractiveness, obviously," Klaus clarifies.

"And our intelligence," Ben says, tit for tat.

"Our personalities..." Klaus continues, though if that was supposed to be another dig it was a little too ambiguous.

"Our interests," Ben adds, since it's kind of fun and Dave's looking amused.

"Our sexualities and gender identities," Klaus piles on.

"We were born on the same day, though," Ben concedes. "So there's that."

Klaus smiles at him through the oxygen mask. "Like I said. Practically the same person."

* * *

After that, Klaus naps again for about half an hour. Ben reads a chapter of the Steinem book.

Then Vanya comes in and wakes Klaus up and asks him if he'd be up for eating in the dining nook, at the table. "I made a stir fry," she says, apologetically. "I think it's a little too messy for eating in bed. I'm sorry, I didn't really think it through."

"No, that sounds great," Klaus says. "I'd love to eat at a table like a person. How long has it been, Ben?"

Ben starts counting backwards and then stops. "You don't want to know," he says.

When they get to the dining nook, there are two chairs at the table. Ben is surprised and touched when, after making sure that Klaus is settled in one of them, Vanya goes and brings two more from the living room and sets them equally-spaced around the table. "For Ben and Dave," she says to Klaus. "They do ... _sit_ , right?"

Klaus beams at her. "Yes, they do," he says.

It's like having a dinner party.

It _is_ a dinner party. The fact that Dave and Ben don't eat isn't important.

Klaus complains about the lack of a wine pairing, but in a tone of voice that makes it mostly a joke.

Ben tells Vanya politely (through Klaus) that the meal looks delicious. (He wonders if Klaus might let him possess him at mealtime, someday. Ben would love to eat.)

Klaus asks Vanya where she learned to cook. It wasn't a skill they were taught, growing up. Klaus's own attempts to prepare meals, on the occasions when he's had access to a kitchen, have ranged from hilariously bad to disastrous.

Vanya confesses to some culinary disasters of her own, in her first few months of living alone. She has a muted, self-effacing sense of humor. With a few dry remarks about burnt toast she actually makes Klaus laugh, which is sort of unfortunate since it triggers a coughing fit and leaves him clutching his chest in pain. This doesn't stop him from egging her on, though, asking for more stories.

Then Dave gets in on it, explaining army food. Klaus moans at the idea of his maybe-future-self being subjected to C-rations.

They get to the end of the meal, companionably. Klaus hasn't eaten a full portion, but he's eaten most of one. And he's managed to sit up all through dinner. Ben is really pleased with the progress of his recovery.

"You'll need your pills," Vanya says, as she starts clearing their plates. "I'll bring them to you; they're in the kitchen."

"Mm, thanks Vanvan," Klaus says.

She takes the plates, and then comes back a moment later with two pill bottles. She hands Klaus one, and opens the other herself.

Klaus checks the label, shakes out two pills, and swallows them with water. But all the while he's eyeing Vanya, who's doing the same thing herself.

"What are _you_ taking?" Klaus asks her.

"Oh, it's just my anxiety meds," Vanya says. "I take them twice a day."

Klaus perks up. "Ativan?" he asks. "Xanax?"

 _Shit._ "Klaus, don't even think about it," Ben says.

Vanya, meanwhile, hasn't clued in to the danger implicit in Klaus's line of questioning. "I'm not even really sure what it is," she says, squinting at the bottle. "I've taken them for as long as I can remember." She tries reading the drug name off the label, but gives up after the fifth syllable.

"Sounds lovely," Klaus says happily, and reaches across the table. "Yoink!"

Vanya looks very surprised to discover that the pill bottle is suddenly in Klaus's hand instead of hers.

"Klaus, you probably shouldn't—" Dave is saying, but Klaus has already shaken out two pills and popped them in his mouth.

And Ben ... Ben is sitting on his hands.

They had a deal. No non-consensual possessions, and no running away.

Klaus isn't breaking the deal. Ben just didn't make a good enough deal.

 _Fuck_.

"Klaus!" Vanya looks annoyed, and a little disturbed. "Those are prescription. They're not meant for you."

"Didn't Mom teach us to share?" Klaus says, handing the bottle back to her.

"I don't even know why you did that," Vanya says. "They don't make me high."

"Sure, sure," Klaus says. "But maybe they'll take the edge off, a bit. Anti-anxiety, you said? Probably something in the benzo family, then. Perfect for an after-dinner digestif." He frowns, and adds, "Now Ben's mad at me."

"That's an understatement," Ben mutters, wishing for the typewriter.

He's _furious_.

Klaus didn't need to do that. He's been sober for a week. There aren't any ghosts freaking him out.

He'd been doing _so well_.

"You should go to bed," Vanya says. "You look tired."

 _She_ looks tired. The way everyone gets tired, eventually, dealing with Klaus.

Ben hopes she won't kick them out over this. Klaus is still pretty sick. Ending up back on the street now would be bad.

* * *

It doesn't seem like Vanya is planning to withdraw her hospitality, though. She offers Klaus a baggy-on-her, tight-on-him T-shirt and her loosest pair of pajama pants to sleep in. And she leaves the lights on and curls up next to him in her bed. After he closes his eyes, she lies there watching him with a worried frown for several minutes before she closes her own.

Ben sighs, and picks up the Steinem book again.

It was too much to hope for, that this crisis would be a turning point for Klaus.

Klaus doesn't _want_ to get sober. He's said so, in so many words.

So he'll hole up here at Vanya's and lick his wounds until he finishes the course of antibiotics— _maybe_ even until his ribs heal up enough that he can take a breath without pain, if Ben can manage to convince him that that's the definition of 'healthy' in the terms of their deal—and then he'll go back to his chosen world, and find somebody who will give him drugs or the means to get them in exchange for sexual favors.

And they'll be back in the cycle. Klaus will probably be more careful for a while. He'll find somebody to stay with and he'll behave himself as a house guest so that he doesn't end up on the street or in a shelter again—at least, not right away, especially with winter coming on. He'll moderate his drug use, for a while.

And then he'll forget to.

Ben hunches his shoulders and tries to lose himself in the book, the way he always does, but he can't focus. He's too mad at Klaus, and disappointed, and scared.

And then the book disappears.

Ben blinks. Looks at his empty hands.

That was weird.

He reaches for the book again. The physical copy is still on Vanya's bedside table.

His hands whiff through it.

He can't pick it up.

And Ben suddenly feels dizzy.

No, that's the wrong analogy. He suddenly feels _un_ -dizzy. The universe has just lost its tilt, and gone flat.

He can't even figure out what's wrong at first, until he looks at Klaus and realizes: _he has no idea where Klaus is_.

He's looking straight at Klaus. Klaus is there. But Ben can't feel him.

The universe has always had a Klaus-wards slant, ever since Ben died.

And now it doesn't.

"Klaus?!" Ben yelps in a sudden panic.

Because his first thought is: Klaus has died.

But when Ben crouches next to him and watches carefully, he can see Klaus's chest rising and falling.

Ben counts Klaus's next twenty breaths, soothing away the spike of fear.

Something bad is happening, but it's not the worst-case scenario.

Ben lies down on the bed, facing Klaus. There isn't much room, since of course Klaus is already sharing the bed with Vanya; Ben is close to the edge.

That's okay. He's a ghost. He can't actually fall.

When he closes his eyes, he doesn't know where Klaus is. So he keeps them open.

He watches Klaus breathe all night.


	11. Chapter 11

Klaus sleeps quietly all night. There's no sign of nightmares. He never even rolls over.

Vanya gets up around seven-thirty in the morning. She has breakfast, checks on Klaus again, and then starts playing the violin at eight a.m. sharp.

Klaus wakes up a little after ten.

Upon waking, he coughs and coughs and coughs, which gives Ben some time to mull over whether he wants to bring up the night's disconcerting weirdness right away, or whether he's still too mad at Klaus to have a conversation with him.

Ben has pretty much settled on a plan of telling Klaus about the book vanishing but _also_ reminding him that he's mad at him—when Klaus finally catches his breath, looks around, and says, "Ben?"

"Klaus, last night—" Ben starts.

But Klaus says, "Ben?" again in the middle of Ben's sentence. And he's frowning, looking around the room like he's unexpectedly alone in it. "Dave? Ben?"

"What? I'm right here," Ben says, waving a hand in front of Klaus's face.

Klaus doesn't blink. "Ben?!" he calls out, louder.

Uh oh.

Ben watches as Klaus pushes away the covers and gingerly climbs out of bed. "Ben? Dave? Ben?" he queries again when he gets to the hallway.

"I'm right _here_ ," Ben repeats, helplessly, directly behind him.

Klaus totters out to the living room, where Vanya has her music stand set up in front of the bay window. She pauses in her playing when she notices him.

"Vanya, have you seen Ben?" Klaus asks.

She frowns. "Um, no. How could I possibly have?"

"Right, right," Klaus nods. He weaves through the living room, looking behind each piece of furniture. "Benny? Where are you hiding?"

Vanya watches him for a few moments, and then with a little shrug, lifts her bow and resumes playing.

Finishing his circuit of the living room, Klaus heads back towards the bedroom. He looks in the bathroom along the way. In the bedroom, he checks Vanya's closet. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," he mutters to himself as he does so. And then, louder, "Ben, this isn't funny! I'm sorry, okay?! Please come back!"

It's a small apartment. There's not a lot of scope for hide-and-seek. Klaus looks under Vanya's bed—getting down on his hands and knees and then back up again with obvious difficulty and groans of pain—and then he meanders out towards the front of the apartment again. In the kitchen, he bangs open every cupboard.

"There is no way I'd fit in there," Ben comments, just to hear his own voice.

Probably drawn by the noise of the cupboard doors, Vanya halts in her violin-playing and joins Klaus in the kitchen. "What are you doing?" she asks.

"Ben is _missing_ ," Klaus says. And then: "Hang on." He abruptly spins 180 degrees, calling out, "Gotcha!" And then deflates. "Nope."

"Huh?" Vanya says.

"I thought maybe he was just staying behind me."

"You took my pills last night," Vanya reminds Klaus. "Don't drugs usually block your powers?"

"They don't block out _Ben_ ," Klaus tells her. "He's special."

"Well ... maybe he decided to go for a walk?" Vanya suggests.

"Without _telling_ me?"

"You were asleep," Vanya points out.

Klaus shakes his head. "He _never_ does that."

It's true—since Ben died, he's nearly always stayed in close proximity to Klaus. And any time he leaves him for a bit, even if they're fighting, he always tells Klaus that he's going.

Because if Klaus doesn't know where Ben is, then nobody does, and that's almost the same as not existing.

Ben is starting to feel very uncomfortable.

"How about you have some breakfast?" Vanya suggests. "I'm sure he'll be back soon."

"The library!" Klaus gasps. "Vanya, you have to take me to the library."

Vanya blinks. "Which one?"

Klaus looks appalled. "There's more than one?"

"Why do you want to go to the library?" Vanya asks, instead of dignifying Klaus's question with a response.

"Something Ben said yesterday. If he's really mad at me, I think he might go there to sulk."

"Sulk?" Ben repeats, rolling his eyes.

Well. Not like he could go there to _read_.

* * *

Klaus refuses breakfast, other than a cup of coffee. But he does at least allow Vanya to convince him to get dressed. Unfortunately he has no alternative to putting back on his clothes from yesterday, the blue Che Guevara shirt and black jeans. All of Vanya's clothes are much too small for him.

"Do you have other clothes somewhere, that we could pick up while we're out?" Vanya asks when she sees him back in yesterday's outfit.

Klaus shakes his head. "I practice non-attachment," he says, a little vaguely. It's his stock response when somebody asks him why he doesn't own anything.

That, or 'I only carry _psychological_ ' baggage, if he's feeling more flippant.

"Okay," Vanya says. "Maybe we can stop at the Goodwill on the way back."

She has, in the meantime, told Klaus that if Ben did go to a library, it was probably the main municipal public library; it's the biggest one in the city, and it also happens to be the closest one to Vanya's apartment.

They still need to take a bus to get there. The stop is at the end of Vanya's block, and when they get to it, Klaus sits on the curb and puts his head down on his knees.

"Klaus, are you sure you're up for this?" Vanya asks, sitting down next to him with a concerned glance.

"You can't look for him by _yourself_ ," Klaus points out.

* * *

When the bus comes, Vanya helps Klaus up from the curb, and they get on.

Klaus earns some askance looks from the scattered other passengers. Probably a combined effect of his occasional, rattling bouts of coughing paired with the flamboyant woman's coat and smudged eyeliner. Klaus is used to getting glares from strangers, and doesn't seem to particularly notice. Vanya gives a lot of awkward, apologetic little smiles.

They get off at the library. There's a long flight of steps leading to the main front door. Klaus stares up at it with dismay.

"I think there's a wheelchair ramp around back," Vanya offers.

"No, I can do this," Klaus says.

Progress is slow, but they make it into the library. And then, looking increasingly unsteady on his feet, Klaus winds slowly around the stacks, calling out, "Ben? Ben?"

Vanya keeps wincing and shushing him, but Klaus shakes her off, determined in his search.

The library has five floors. It takes Klaus fifty-five minutes to make his shuffling way around all of them.

When he gets back to the starting point, he collapses into a chair at one of the long reading tables, and drops his head onto his folded arms.

"Are you ready to go home?" Vanya asks. She's apparently given up on the idea of clothes-shopping, which Ben thinks is wise.

Klaus emits a 'mmmph' noise.

Vanya frowns. "Hm? I didn't catch that."

Klaus makes the noise again.

Oh. He's crying.

Ben sits on the table, and tries to pat Klaus's head. Of course he can't. "I'm _here_ ," he says softly, pointlessly.

Then Vanya apparently realizes what's happening, too. She takes a seat in the adjacent chair and pulls it closer to Klaus, so that she can rub his back a little. "I'm sure he'll come back to you," she says. "Maybe he just needed a break."

Klaus continues his soft, muffled crying. Vanya looks very uneasy. She stops rubbing his back and folds her hands on the table in front of her, sits like that for a minute with a tight frown, and then starts patting his back again. "It'll be okay," she tries. "Probably."

When Klaus finally stops crying and sits up, sniffling, Vanya looks very relieved. She pulls a travel pack of tissues out of the small backpack that she'd brought with her as a purse, and hands one to Klaus. "How about I go look for that book that Dave wanted?" she suggests, a little over-brightly.

Klaus's tears have made his eyeliner run in dark, smudgy tracks. He looks terrible. "Yes!" he says, perking up like she's just thrown him a lifeline. "And let's get some books for Ben, too!"

"Sure," Vanya says. "What does he like?"

"Um, everything," Klaus says. "He reads everything."

Ben is briefly offended that Klaus hasn't ever bothered to get a clearer idea of Ben's reading preferences. But then he tries to think of what his preferences actually _are_ , and he realizes that he doesn't know either.

Ben's reading choices are usually limited to whatever happens to be lying around in Klaus's junkie friends' living rooms. So yeah, Klaus is exactly right: Ben just reads everything he can get his hands on.

"Okay," Vanya says. "I'll get a few different books. You wait here."

* * *

They end up taking a cab home from the library. Vanya calls for it from the pay phone in the foyer, keeping a wary eye on Klaus, who's leaning heavily against the wall and looking even paler than before.

Back at Vanya's apartment, Klaus immediately curls up on the couch.

"Do you want me to bring you the oxygen from the bedroom?" Vanya offers.

Klaus gives a barely perceptible nod.

So she does that. Then she takes the library books out of her backpack and stacks them on the dining table.

"There's a piece I still need to practice," she tells Klaus. "Will you be okay there while I'm playing?"

Another tiny nod.

So Vanya retrieves her violin and goes back to her stand, flipping to a fresh page of sheet music.

She plays for a while, stop-and-starting, repeating passages several times, sometimes with different dynamics or tempo. Klaus lies on the couch, eyes open but blank.

After a little while Vanya goes and prepares lunch—just the leftover pasta from yesterday, reheated. She offers Klaus a bowl and, when he makes no move to acknowledge it, puts it on the coffee table in front of him. "When you get hungry, it's there," she says, and goes back to playing.

She practices for a couple more hours. It seems to Ben that she's largely forgotten about Klaus's presence; she seems entirely caught up in her music.

It's nice to see Vanya in her element. She seems different when she plays—more vibrant, more _alive_ than at any other time.

On the other hand, looking over at Klaus is painful. He's still lying on the couch, awake but unmoving, staring into the distance.

Ben tries to tell himself that it's nice, at least, to know that Klaus would miss him if he were gone. ( _Is_ missing him. He _is_ gone.) But Ben has never enjoyed seeing Klaus hurt.

And it's extraordinarily frustrating for Ben, being unable to communicate at all. Last week when Klaus was mad at him and ignoring him, it was awful but it wasn't like this; Klaus would still react to things Ben said, involuntarily at least, with a snort or an eye roll. At least Ben knew he was being heard.

Ben is guessing—hoping—that this terrible new state is temporary. It's just a waiting game until Vanya's drugs pass through Klaus's system. But what if Klaus's connection with Ben is permanently broken?

Ben feels, always at the edge of his awareness, the possibility of letting go. When he thinks about what it would mean (which he usually avoids), he calls it passing-into-the-light.

There's no way to know what would follow. Ben suspects that it's death-for-real, nonexistence. He's scared of it. He's always been scared, since the moment he died—when he felt the light calling to him from one side, warm and implacably attractive, and then the lifeline of his brother tugging him in the other direction.

If Ben didn't have Klaus, he thinks the loneliness would become worse than the fear, pretty quickly.

Anyway. Stop thinking about that. Ben will have Klaus back soon. Right?

* * *

Vanya is making a phone call, from the phone on the wall next to the kitchen.

"Hello?" she says. "Is Diego there? ... Sorry, this is the number he gave me. It's his sister, Vanya. ... Thanks."

There's a pause.

Then Vanya brightens up a little and stands straighter. "Diego, hi!" she says. "I'm sorry, but I need you to come over this afternoon. I've got to go to work, and I don't want to leave Klaus alone. ... _No_ , I can't just handcuff him to the bed. Look, something happened, and— ... No, nothing like that. Well, _sort_ of like that, but— ... No, not an overdose. He took some of my anti-anxiety pills, and— ... I didn't _let_ him! He just _took_ them! Anyway, now Ben seems to be gone and Klaus is, um, kind of shattered. He won't eat, he's not talking, he's just lying on my couch like a vegetable. I hoped maybe you could— ... Okay. See you soon." She hangs up.

Barely ten minutes later, Diego's at the door.

Vanya looks relieved. She starts putting on her own coat immediately. "I'll be back at seven!" she says and heads out, violin case in hand.

Diego looks at Klaus. Looks at the untouched bowl of pasta on the coffee table. "Okay, what happened?" Diego asks. "Vanya says that Ben is gone?"

"I fucked up," Klaus replies in a thin, small voice.

"More than usual?" Diego asks, a little doubtfully.

"Ben thought I was going clean. He really wanted me to. I think I just disappointed him one too many times."

"Oh, buddy. I'm sure Ben is used to disappointment by now."

Diego is not great at pep talks, Ben observes.

Klaus makes a stifled little sobbing noise, and squeezes his eyes shut.

"I mean, maybe he needed to take a little vacation, sure," Diego says. "He knows you're safe with Vanya for now. When's the last time he had any time off, hey?"

Ben is somewhat gratified to note that after nearly a decade of denying Ben's existence, Diego has so quickly taken on board the notion that Ben has been Klaus's caretaker all along.

His guess is inaccurate, though. Ben doesn't want a vacation. He wants _Klaus_ back.

Klaus is crying again, choking down the sobs into near-silence like he did in the library.

"Oh, man," Diego sighs. He flops into the armchair, cornerwise to the couch, and watches Klaus cry.

When the sobs eventually trail off—which takes a long time—Diego says, "You done?"

Klaus blinks teary eyes at him.

"Okay, so now you're gonna eat," Diego says.

"Not hungry," Klaus murmurs thickly.

"I don't care," Diego says. "You're too fucking skinny. You don't get to stop eating, no matter how sad you are. So are you gonna pick up that fork for yourself, or do I have to force-feed you?"

* * *

Under Diego's watchful eye, Klaus slowly and joylessly feeds himself the bowl of cold, slightly-dried-out pasta.

Diego then suggests a nap. He helps Klaus back to the bedroom. Klaus stretches out on the bed, but doesn't close his eyes; he just stares at the ceiling.

Diego goes back to the living room. He stands by the dormer window, looking out. "Ben," he says into air.

Ben twitches, startled.

"I don't know if you're out there, if you can hear me. How this works," Diego goes on. His voice has a pensive tone, more like musing than a real conversation. "I think I know how you feel," Diego goes on. "I've been pretty pissed off at Klaus myself, every time I try to help him and he throws it back in my face. And I can't even imagine how frustrating it must be for you, watching him fuck up all the time. But ... we can't give up on him, okay? We know how he got this way. He might never get better. But he's our brother, and we're all he's got."

Ben's a little offended, actually. He's never given up on Klaus. He never would. And while Diego has done a few dramatic Klaus-rescues over the years, it's _Ben_ who's been there every day.

But then Ben remembers that Diego doesn't know that Ben's actually listening to him.

Diego is using the idea of Ben as a proxy, but he's talking to himself.

* * *

The day passes quietly. Diego picks up the copy of _Dune: Messiah_ , brings it into the bedroom, and sits cross-legged next to Klaus, reading.

Ben is pleased by this, at first. Since he can't pick up books himself for the moment, reading over Diego's shoulder is his only available entertainment.

It's a frustrating way to read, though. Diego reads about 50% slower than Ben does, so at the end of every pair of pages, Ben has to wait.

And then at one point, Klaus, currently napping, stirs and whimpers. Ben looks over at him, wondering if he's waking up or having a nightmare. When Ben looks back at the book, Diego's turned a page that Ben hadn't finished reading yet.

Okay, Ben can see why Dave eventually gave up on trying to read this way.

* * *

When Klaus wakes up from his nap, it's with a murmur of, "Ben?" And he's looking nearly right at Ben when he says it. So Ben has a moment of hope—which is dashed when Klaus sits up and repeats, "Ben??" in a lost, empty tone, looking around the room.

"Still not here, huh?" Diego asks, sounding sympathetic.

Klaus just flops back down, curls up on his side, and stares morosely at the wall.

When Vanya comes back at seven, she brings three pita wraps in a takeout bag. She and Diego coax Klaus out to the dining nook, and Diego keeps reminding Klaus to take bites until he's eaten his full portion. Diego and Vanya keep up a slightly awkward conversation, meanwhile, with no contributions from Klaus. When Klaus is done eating, he silently leaves the table and goes back to Vanya's bed and curls up again, open eyes staring.

Ben sits in front of Klaus, knees tucked up to his chin. If he positions himself just right, he can maintain the illusion that Klaus is looking at him.

Diego and Vanya both come into the bedroom a few minutes later. Diego's brought the Dune book again, and Vanya has one of the books she picked for Ben— _The Name of the Rose_ by Umberto Eco. It was a good choice; he remembers reading the first half of it years ago, and liking it. Klaus moved on before he could finish it, so he never did find out how it ended.

It occurs to Ben that maybe he should have stayed with Diego and Vanya to eavesdrop on their conversation after Klaus left the room. Now he doesn't know what the plan is; is Diego going to stay over? Are Diego and Vanya planning to _do_ anything, or just to keep Klaus company? Anyway, for now they both sit on the bed and read their books.

Klaus's sadness is a bit overwhelming, actually. Ben wouldn't have expected it to be this profound. Klaus usually gives the impression that he finds Ben's constant presence a little annoying.

Klaus is _Ben's_ everything. But Klaus has other people. He has no deep attachments, but he's good at making quick connections and enjoying the company of near-strangers, even if it is usually through a drugged-out haze. And now he has Vanya and Diego.

Ben is really glad that Klaus has Vanya and Diego. If he didn't, Ben suspects that Klaus would have decided by now to escape his sadness in the obvious, in-character way.

* * *

It's nearly ten p.m.. Vanya has yawned a couple of times, but neither she nor Diego has said anything yet about Diego leaving.

Klaus is still staring at the wall. Ben's been timing his blinks. Klaus is only blinking four times a minute.

And then suddenly Klaus's eyes widen. "You're back!" he cries out.

"I never left—" Ben starts to say, but Klaus has already managed to scramble into a sitting position and grabbed Ben in a hug.

The hug is solid. Ben is being _hugged_.

It feels wonderful.

Ben lifts his arms to wrap them around Klaus in turn, but he doesn't squeeze, remembering the still-healing broken ribs. He just enjoys the feeling of Klaus in his arms.

The universe has a center again.

"Vanya, do you see...?" Diego is asking in the background.

"Uh huh," Vanya says. "I see him too."

"Never leave me again," Klaus begs. "I promise I'll _try_ , I'll try to stay sober—"

"Klaus, I _didn't_ leave you," Ben insists. "I've been with you all day. I followed you to the library. I watched you lying on the couch, I heard Vanya call Diego to stay with you because she was so worried about you, I saw Diego making you eat lunch—"

"I don't understand," Klaus says, pulling back from the hug and looking at Ben quizzically. "Why couldn't I see you?"

Ben has some thoughts about this. Ben has had a _lot_ of thoughts, over the course of the day. "Get the typewriter," he says. "I want to have this conversation with you _and_ Vanya and Diego."

The typewriter is on the bedroom floor. Vanya sets it up in the middle of the bed with a fresh sheet of paper.

Ben makes sure that Klaus is leaning comfortably against the headboard, propped up with a pillow, so he won't get tired if this conversation runs long. And then, sitting next to Klaus and hooking his leg over Klaus's, Ben starts typing.

He begins by explaining the events of the past 24 hours from his perspective. How, about twenty minutes after Klaus took Vanya's pills, Ben suddenly found himself unable to pick up ghost copies of books. How Klaus had looked right through him when he woke up in the morning.

 **So I realized that Vanya's drugs were blocking your power,** Ben types.

"But I couldn't see _you_ ," Klaus objects. "I can always see _you_."

And Ben types the first of the four major epiphanies that he's had over the course of this day: **Other drugs don't block your power.**

"What?" Klaus says. "Yes they do. That's the whole _point_ of them."

Ben shakes his head. **I think they must weaken it. They don't block it. Because you can always see me. Today you couldn't see me. Your powers were really blocked for the first time.**

"No, that doesn't make sense," Klaus says. He sounds disturbed, and kind of defensive. "I take drugs to block out the ghosts. It _works_."

 **I think you've always had more control over your power than you realize,** Ben types. That was epiphany number two. **I think that when you're high, your power is weaker, but you prioritize seeing me so you still do.**

**Even when you sleep your power isn't blocked. Normally I can read all night. It's your power that lets me do that. And I think that you figured out how to make it happen, years ago, because you knew I got bored and lonely at night while you slept.**

Ben couldn't pick up books when he first died—and he complained to Klaus about it a lot, and then suddenly he could.

And at first it only worked when Klaus was awake. But then Ben complained to Klaus about _that_ , and soon he could read at night.

Ben had assumed at the time that he was developing his own ghostly manifestation skills—getting better at being dead.

It was only last night when the Steinem book vanished between his fingers that he realized it was Klaus making it possible all along.

"I don't remember doing that," Klaus says.

Ben shakes his head, and types: **I don't think you knew you were doing it. You've always been scared of exploring your power. But you do things with it instinctively. Remember when you made me visible to Dave?**

"I guess so," Klaus says, still sounding doubtful.

 **Klaus, I think that if you work at it, you can get even more control,** Ben types. Epiphany number three: **I think you might be able to choose not to see other ghosts. Even without getting high.**

"What?" Klaus says. "If it was that easy, Ben—"

 **Not necessarily easy,** Ben interrupts. The loud clacking of the keys is just as effective as talking over Klaus. **Maybe not even possible. But we can try?**

"Okay," Klaus says. He sounds a little lost. Ben is sympathetic. A paradigm shift of this magnitude isn't going to be easy to adjust to.

 **Also, think about this:** Ben types. **Street drugs don't block your powers. Sleep doesn't block your powers. That time you OD'd on heroin laced with fentanyl and spent four days in a coma? Did NOT block your powers. I was reading in the hospital the whole time. Your roommate liked noir detective novels.**

"Wait, the time he _what_?" Diego says.

That was one of the five overdoses Diego didn't know about.

But it's tangential to the point that Ben's making now. And coming up is epiphany number four, the reason he wanted to have this conversation on the typewriter, instead of just having it with Klaus: **But Vanya's drugs DO block your powers.**

**So what the hell are they? And why did Dad give them to HER?**

"Huh," Klaus says, as he quietly gets it.

" _Shit_ ," Diego says, as he also gets it.

"What?" Vanya says, as she does not yet, quite, get it.

"Ha, I _knew_ she must have a power!" Dave says. "That whole mysterious birth thing just didn't make sense, otherwise!"

"Oh, hi Dave," Ben says, looking up.

"Dave!" Klaus says happily. "You're back!"

"Uh, yeah, I was here all day too," Dave says. "I guess it just took a little longer for the block to wear off, in my case."

If Ben's rapidly-evolving theories about the mechanics of Klaus's power are correct, Ben became visible to Klaus first because Klaus was more desperate to see him. But Ben feels like it would be impolite to speculate about that out loud.

"So what do you think Vanya's power is?" Klaus asks.

"My _what_?" Vanya says.

"Your power. Didn't we just—oh, right, you can't hear Dave. He just said that he knew all along that you must have a power. He's doing an I-told-you-so face now. It's adorable."

"I can't have a power," Vanya says. "I don't have a power. The pills are for anxiety."

"Ummm, I don't think so, Vanvan," Klaus says. "That's not what they felt like to me."

"What did they feel like?" Dave asks.

"They made me feel ... flat," Klaus says. "Or maybe that was just not being able to see Ben?"

"You've been taking those pills for as long as any of us can remember, Vanya," Diego points out. "Since we were little kids. All you know about them is what Dad told you."

Vanya frowns. "Do you think I should ask him about them?"

"No way!" and "Fuck no!" say Diego and Klaus, urgently and simultaneously.

 **If Dad gave you the drugs to block your power and never told you about it, we shouldn't let him know that we've figured it out,** Ben types.

"I don't understand," Vanya says. "Why would he have done that?"

"Maybe her power was dangerous," Dave suggests.

"Dave thinks maybe you have a dangerous power," Klaus relays to Vanya. "I'm not sure that tracks, though. _Everyone_ had a dangerous power, except for me. And Dad was always super disappointed in me." He turns to Vanya. "So, what do you think, sis? Are you gonna stop taking the pills?"

Vanya looks pale. "Oh my God," she murmurs.

"Come on!" Klaus says encouragingly. "We can go clean together! We can be sober buddies!"

"It's up to you," Diego says seriously to Vanya. "It's a big decision. But my advice is: fuck Dad. Stop taking the pills, and find out what your power is."

"I can't believe this," Vanya says. "My whole _life_ was a lie..."

"Is that a yes?" Klaus asks.

Vanya hesitates, and then nods. "Yes," she says. "Fuck Dad. I want to know what my power is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to my posting schedule, the next two chapters are due out on December 25th and January 1st. Will I stick to the schedule? I guess so! We're in lockdown here, so it's not like I'm going _out_ or anything. (If you have other plans for those days, you can always catch up on my fic later. 😄 )


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Christmas Day 2020 update!
> 
> (Which has nothing at all to do with Christmas. The Hargreeves don't even celebrate Christmas, in my headcanon for this universe. If you're keeping track of the in-story date—which I assume you aren't, because why on earth would you?!—this chapter takes place over the night of November 15th/November 16th, 2015. But! I do celebrate Christmas, and today is Christmas, and part of my celebration is to keep up my every-Friday posting schedule for this fic, hooray! I hope you enjoy it.)

"Maybe she breathes fire," Klaus suggests.

"Ummm..." Vanya says. "I hope not."

"Just in case—do you have a fire extinguisher?"

"Yes, in the kitchen."

"Okay."

"Or maybe she can fly."

"That would be okay," Vanya says.

"Why would Dad have blocked a flying power, though?" Diego asks.

"Too much freedom?" Klaus suggests.

The three of them are lying in Vanya's bed. Vanya's in the middle. Klaus is on her right, hooked up to the oxygen tank on the floor next to him, and wearing Vanya's clothes as pajamas again. Diego's on her left, wearing the same clothes he arrived in. The overhead light is still on, in deference to Klaus's fear of the dark, but theoretically they're all supposed to be going to sleep now. It's just that Klaus keeps chatting, and drawing the other siblings into it.

Vanya skipped her bedtime dose of the pills.

They don't know how long it will take for anything to happen. It took a full day for the effects to wear off for Klaus. But Vanya's been taking the pills for over twenty years, so—as Klaus points out, speaking from experience—her mileage may vary.

Anyway, just in case things start happening sooner rather than later, Diego offered to stay the night. Vanya took him up on the offer without hesitation.

She seems a little nervous.

"Maybe she can turn invisible," Klaus speculates. "That seems on-brand, right?"

"Invisibility is a crappy power," Ben says.

"That's only because you can't turn it off," Klaus tells him.

Diego smirks and rolls up onto one elbow to peer over Vanya at Klaus. "Ben just said that he hates being invisible, didn't he?"

Klaus widens his eyes dramatically. "You can hear him now?"

"Nope," Diego says. "Just getting better at reading between the lines."

"Ben's in bed with us _too_?" Vanya asks.

Klaus waves in Ben's general direction. "He's sitting down by our feet."

"Wow, okay," Vanya says. "That's a lot of brothers in my bed. Dave isn't here too, is he?"

"No, he's in the living room," Ben says. Klaus repeats it.

"Do you want more space, Van?" Diego asks. "I'll go out to the couch if you'd rather."

"No, I want you here," Vanya says. "I don't know what might happen. There's a chance somebody might need to, um. Stop me? From doing something? And Klaus might not be able to."

"I would never hurt you, Vanya," Diego says, looking a little disturbed.

"Diego, I trust you," she says, very simply. "But if something happens—if my power is dangerous, if I can't control it when it starts happening—I might need you to stop me from hurting anybody else."

"Trying to imagine _you_ hurting somebody just breaks my brain, Vanyaya," Klaus says. "It's like imagining a kitten smoking a cigar."

"Klaus, your brain was broken a loooong time ago," Diego side-notes.

"Luther has super strength, and Dad didn't block it," Vanya says. "Allison has _mind control_ , and Dad didn't block it. He didn't block Diego's knives, or Ben's monster, or even Five's potential to time travel. So what the hell is my power, that he decided it was too much?"

"I notice I didn't make your list..." Klaus murmurs.

"Sorry," Vanya winces. "I mean ... your power _really_ isn't dangerous."

"Except to _him_ ," Diego points out. "Which actually brings up another good fuck-you-Dad point. By the time Klaus was fifteen, sixteen, we knew he was spiraling. We knew he was drinking to get rid of the ghosts, and that it wasn't going to end well. So why didn't Dad ever offer Klaus the chance to take those pills and escape his power safely?"

"Oh my God," Vanya murmurs. "You're right."

"Only fuck no," Klaus says, looking appalled. "If he'd done that, then when Ben died he would have been _gone_."

Ben sits up straight; something in Klaus's words has hit him with an adrenaline spike. "Klaus," he says. "Klaus! Do you realize what's happening here?"

"Huh?" Klaus says. "No, what?" And then he glosses for Vanya and Diego: "Ben's being confusing."

"Klaus, you have a _choice_. You could take Vanya's pills. You could stop seeing ghosts."

"What?" Klaus says. "No! Today was _horrible_ , Ben!"

"Oh my God, Ben's right," Diego says.

"Did I miss something?" Vanya asks. "What did Ben say?"

Klaus sits up and stares at Diego. "Seriously. Have you been able to hear him all along?"

"I can't hear him, I'm just figuring it out from listening to your side. It's like standing next to somebody talking on the phone." Diego turns to Vanya. "Klaus could take your pills and block his power. I mean, he could do it _now_."

"Again, no!" Klaus says. "I wouldn't be able to see Ben. Or my new ghost-boyfriend!"

"Right!" Ben says. "That was my point. Klaus, you've always felt like your power is a curse. But you've just found out that you can escape it. And you don't _want_ to. So maybe ... you can change your whole relationship to it. You don't need to run from it anymore."

"What's Ben saying now?" Vanya asks Diego.

Diego shrugs. "No idea. Klaus?"

"He thinks I'm ready to stop running from my power," Klaus says. "That if I don't want to take Vanya's drugs to _really_ block it, I should be able to stop taking other drugs to half-assedly block it."

"And do you think you are?" Vanya asks, delicately. "Ready for that?"

"Maybe," Klaus says in the tiny, tiniest voice. He looks scared.

"Klaus, that's huge," Diego says. "That's, wow. That's so great."

Vanya takes Klaus's hand; she threads her fingers through his, and squeezes. "I'm scared too," she says. "But we're here for each other, right?"

"Right," Klaus says, with a little shudder. "We're here for each other. And fuck Dad."

* * *

Ben watches his siblings fall asleep. And then, feeling a great sense of contentment, he picks up a ghost copy of _The Name of the Rose_ , and starts reading it from the beginning.

Halfway through the night, Klaus starts twitching.

Ben recognizes the signs of a nightmare right away. He's not particularly concerned. Klaus usually has nightmares; if he doesn't wake up, he tends not to remember them in the morning and they bother him less.

Soon, though, it starts to look like this is one of the bad ones. Klaus starts gasping, and clawing at his chest. His legs start thrashing.

"Ow!" Vanya yelps, sitting straight up. "What the _hell_?"

And that wakes Diego up. Diego scrambles out of bed and looks around wildly, a knife in his hand. "What's happening?"

Vanya stares at him. "Diego, were you sleeping with _knives_?"

"I always sleep with knives."

Klaus cries out. It's wordless, but he sounds terrified.

"Shit," Vanya says, scrambling backwards away from him. "Am I doing that? Am I doing something?"

"I don't know, _are_ you?" Diego asks, staring at her.

"Guys, it's a nightmare," Ben says wearily. He knows they can't hear him. "You _know_ Klaus has nightmares."

Klaus cries out again. Vanya retreats off the bed and over to the far corner of the room. She stares at her own hands, wide-eyed.

"Vanya, do you need me to do something?" Diego asks, circling her warily at more than an arm's distance.

"I don't _know_ ," she says, sounding anguished.

Klaus's eyes pop open. He tears the oxygen mask away from his face—which is the wrong move, but he was probably perceiving it as an obstruction—and starts coughing.

"Klaus," Ben says soothingly, moving into his field of vision. "Are you awake? Can you hear me? You're okay, it was just a dream."

Klaus curls up into a ball and folds his arms over his head and shrieks.

"Diego, you have to knock me out," Vanya begs. "I have no idea what I'm doing. I don't know how to stop it."

"Van, I'm not doing that to you!" Diego says. "Head injuries are dangerous!"

Okay, this is getting ridiculous.

Suddenly Ben has an idea that's so crazy it might work. "Klaus," he says, "I'm going to get Dave. You have to reach out and give us power so we can see each other in the living room. Can you do that?"

He's not totally sure if Klaus has even heard him. He's still curled up, rocking and weeping now. But Ben thinks there might have been a nod in there somewhere.

Ben runs to the living room.

Dave's standing at the front bay window, but he's looking toward the back of the apartment with a worried expression—even through the closed bedroom door and along the length of the apartment, he's probably heard some of the commotion.

Ben can _see_ him.

And Dave sees Ben, too. As soon as Ben comes into the room, Dave asks: "What's going on?"

"Klaus needs you in the bedroom. He had a bad nightmare and he's freaking out, and Vanya and Diego think it's something she's doing to him and _they're_ freaking out," Ben explains quickly.

Dave, all credit to him, doesn't ask for any further explanation or comment on the unprecedented fact that they can see each other without Klaus's immediate presence. He just says, "Got it," and runs to the bedroom.

In the bedroom, Vanya's backed into a corner and hugging herself, looking frightened. Diego's standing a little back from her, knife still in hand, obviously at a loss. Klaus is biting his fingers and wailing.

"Oh, it's one of those nights," Dave says.

Which is about the reaction that Ben was hoping for.

In Dave's timeline, he spent ten months in the Vietnam War with Klaus—nights that must have been spent in dark tents, in fear. Ben doesn't really have much idea of what a first-hand experience of a jungle war would be like, but he figures it probably sucked in a lot of ways that would _not_ have helped Klaus's PTSD from his Umbrella Academy days.

So Dave must have plenty of experience with Klaus's nightmares.

Dave goes straight to Klaus's side and lies down facing him. "Klaus, I'm here," he says. "Look at me, honey. Focus. There you go." He reaches for Klaus's hand and gently tugs it free of his mouth. He rubs the fingers; Ben can see the red marks where Klaus was biting, but it doesn't look like the skin broke. "You were having a bad dream but I want you to breathe slowly, now, and tell me the colors of the rainbow, in order."

"i...indigo?" Klaus manages in a wavering croak.

"Sure, start at that end," Dave says. "What's next?" His voice is very calming, Ben notices. Even Ben feels calmer now.

Vanya and Diego, unfortunately, can't hear Dave.

" _What_ did Klaus say?" Vanya asks. There are tears in her eyes.

"My name, I think," Diego says. "Klaus, buddy? What's happening?" He doesn't take his eyes off Vanya.

Klaus is still apparently trying to remember 'blue'. Ben guesses the colors of the visible spectrum aren't the point; Dave's getting Klaus to think about something other than the nightmare. It's a clever trick. Ben wishes he had thought of it.

Ben's got to get Vanya and Diego sorted out, before they do something really dumb.

"Klaus, I need to use the typewriter," Ben says. "I need you to send me some power."

He's not sure if this is a good idea. The typewriter's on the floor, on the opposite side of the bed from where Klaus is. Giving Ben the power to type at that distance will cost Klaus, if he manages it at all—if he's even registered Ben's request.

"B-blue," Klaus manages. And as he says the word, his eyes flash the color.

"Thanks," Ben says, and sits at the typewriter.

He needs to keep the message short. He doesn't want to hurt Klaus. **K had a nightmare. Not V's fault. Nothing to do with her.**

The clacking of the keys catches Vanya and Diego's attention, as Ben hoped it would.

"Green," Klaus says, sounding a little calmer.

"A nightmare?" Vanya reads. "Nothing to do with me? Oh my God." She sinks back against the wall.

"Vanya?" Diego says, putting a hand out to steady her.

"I'm okay," she says. "Just ... really relieved. And feeling like an idiot."

"Drop the power, Klaus," Ben says. "I wrote what I needed to."

He feels a subtle change in his substance; experimentally, he pats the typewriter keys, and his hand goes right through them.

"Y-yellow," Klaus says, and his teeth chatter a little on this one. But his nose isn't bleeding, so he's probably fine.

"You're doing great," Dave encourages him.

"R-red."

"You missed orange," Ben says.

Dave frowns at him.

Ben shrugs.

"Klaus, are you okay?" Vanya asks, climbing back on the bed.

Dave's saying something else to Klaus now, too quietly for Ben to hear. Klaus is managing a shaky little smile, and he's focused on Dave.

"Klaus?" Vanya repeats, looking worried.

"Ben, what's happening now?" Diego asks the typewriter.

"Bring the typewriter up on the bed," Vanya says. "It's easier for them if it's closer to Klaus."

Okay, well, that's a good idea. After Diego does it, Ben hooks a leg through Klaus's and tries typing, but his fingers are still insubstantial. So it's not automatic, even when he's touching Klaus. Good to know. "Klaus?" he says. "Can you spare me a little power? Vanya and Diego want an update."

Klaus doesn't look like he's listening; his fingers are all entwined with Dave's, and they've just started kissing.

But a moment later Ben feels a subtle change in his own substance, and when he tries typing again, it works.

**Dave is helping Klaus calm down,** he writes.

"Uh, yeah, we can see that _now_ ," Diego says, casting a bemused glance over at Klaus.

Oh, right. Dave becomes visible to the living when Klaus is kissing him. Ben tries to imagine what that must look like: Klaus gently kissing a glowing blue translucent version of Dave. 

"I'm having second thoughts about this whole going-off-my-pills thing," Vanya says, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear with an anxious twitch. "That was scary."

**That was nothing to do with you,** Ben tells her again. **Klaus has nightmares all the time. I TOLD you guys about it.**

"I know," Vanya says. "But I _thought_ it was me, and that was a terrible feeling."

"Van," Diego says, "Whatever your power is, it'll probably be something you can hurt people with. Everybody but Klaus got a power that worked as a weapon. But if you can use it to hurt people, you can also use it to help people."

**Diego, are you about to try to recruit Vanya to go vigilante-ing with you?**

"Vigilante...ing?" Vanya reads aloud, dubiously.

"Wait, how do _you_ know about—?" Diego starts.

**I was there when Eudora brought you home in cuffs,** Ben reminds him. And then, ignoring Vanya's quizzical noise, he adds: **Also, Dave told us. He's been following you around for the past year, hoping you'd lead him to Klaus.**

"What, really?" Diego says.

Ben shrugs, which they can't see, and adds: **In the end, he led Klaus to you. So it all worked out.**

"Okay," Diego says. He blinks and shakes himself, visibly processing that. "Anyway," he says, turning to Vanya, "if your power does turn out to be good in a fight, it would be great to have some backup sometimes. If you want to come out with me."

"Come out ... where?" Vanya asks.

"Well, around. I look for people in trouble, and I help them."

"You mean, you're still doing what Dad _wanted_ you to do?" She looks fairly surprised.

"Not like _he_ wanted it," Diego insists, scowling. "No publicity. No fucking _comic books_. I just show up, do the thing, and leave."

"Umm," Vanya says. "I mean, you all spent your entire childhoods training for that kind of thing. I learned the _violin_."

There's something in her voice, though. A little frisson of hope.

Diego shrugs. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Find out what your power is, first. But then, if you want—offer's open."

* * *

The rest of the night is okay. Klaus asks if Dave can stay with him, and Vanya consents. This results in a pretty crowded bed. Vanya ends up sleeping with her head tucked into the crook of Diego's arm, which Ben thinks is pretty cute.

They weren't allowed sleepovers as kids; at lights-out, everyone was supposed to be shut in their own room until morning.

As far as Ben knows, Klaus was the only one who regularly broke that rule. He'd sneak most often into Ben's room, but sometimes into Diego's or Allison's. He hated being alone.

Ben wishes, in retrospect, that they'd all broken the rules a lot more often.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Bonus Boxing Day update!
> 
> This chapter's actually kind of on-theme for the holidays, in that Klaus gives Ben a gift. (It's still mid-November 2015 in the fic, though.)
> 
> I hope you're all safe out there!
> 
> ~ December 26th, 2020

In the morning, Vanya and Diego both decide to call in sick to work, just in case her power starts manifesting partway through the day.

Vanya declares an intention to make pancakes for breakfast. While she gets them ready, Diego takes Klaus's temperature and discovers that his fever's finally gone.

"That's _great_ ," Diego says, gazing at the thermometer with a pleased expression, like it's a math test he just unexpectedly passed. "Klaus, how are you feeling?"

"Pretty ... good?" Klaus says, hesitantly.

"That's your body telling you that it likes eating nutritious food and not being high," Diego tells him confidently. "Try listening to it." Then he frowns. "Lift up your shirt."

"What? Why?" Klaus asks.

"I want to see how you're healing. How long's it been now, since Eddie hurt you?"

Klaus looks to Ben.

"Sixteen days," Ben supplies.

"Hey Dave, it's sixteen days since we met!" Klaus says. "This is already my second-longest relationship."

Dave looks bemused. "I don't think I'd count us from that day in the park. We only _kissed_ two days ago."

"But there's also the ten months that you remember and I don't," Klaus points out. "Average it, maybe? Five each?"

"I don't feel like I need to know the other half of this conversation," Diego says. "So that's fine. But I'm still waiting for you to lift up your shirt, Klaus."

Klaus frowns, but he does it. The bruises are fading, but they're still pretty bad. Diego pokes Klaus's torso gently in a couple of places and listens to him hiss.

"And how high can you lift your arms now?" Diego asks him.

Klaus rolls his eyes, and lifts his elbows to just past his ears. _Hello_ , _Goodbye_. He winces.

"Okay," Diego shrugs. "It's all going in the right direction. You just keep taking it easy, and it should all heal up okay. You take your pills yet this morning?"

"That used to be a much more delightful question," Klaus mutters, hunching his shoulders.

"Hey." Diego glares. "Let's not do that."

"Do what?"

"Talk about how much you love being high. It was killing you, Klaus."

"I've agreed to stay clean," Klaus says, looking rebellious. "I haven't agreed to become a fucking ambassador for Drug-Free America."

"Let it go, Klaus," Ben advises. "Diego's been really worried about you. And by the way, no, you haven't had your antibiotics yet. Vanya's got them for you in the kitchen."

Klaus sighs, and pats Diego's arm. "Ben says I need to go to the kitchen and take the pills. And I'm sorry I kept almost dying on your doorstep. I can see how that would stress you out."

Diego's jaw tightens, but he gives Klaus a careful hug. "Okay, buddy," he says. "It's all water under the bridge now."

* * *

They don't really expect Vanya's powers to start manifesting for another half day at least.

So they spend the day experimenting with Klaus's.

Making Ben and Dave visible to each other while out of Klaus's immediate presence seems to be fairly easy for Klaus to do, once he puts his mind to it. Ben and Dave test the range, going for a walk outdoors together.

"Do you change your clothes with the seasons?" Dave asks Ben curiously as they make their way along the sidewalk. They have to keep ducking out into the street to avoid pedestrians coming the other way, since of course nobody else will change course to veer around _them_.

It's mid-November now; everyone around them is wearing jackets, and most are wearing hats, gloves, and even scarves.

Ben is in his usual black hoodie and leather jacket. Dave's still in his blue disco outfit.

"Nah," Ben says. "Even when I was alive, I didn't really think much about clothes. I mean, there was a uniform we had to wear most of the time. The rest of the time I pretty much dressed like this."

"I think I might try changing it up soon," Dave muses. "Maybe when Klaus feels better we can go window-shopping, and I can find something to copy—" He stops abruptly. "Oh my God," he says. "Isn't anybody going to help that woman?"

Ben follows Dave's gaze. There's a woman with a bloody face wandering down the center line of the road. The cars are roaring past her on either side, obliviously.

"That's a ghost," Ben says. "Can't you tell?"

"Oh," Dave says, pensively. "There is something ... _different_ about her. I want to say she 'feels weird', but what am I feeling?"

Ben nods. "It's the same for me. I can feel the difference between ghosts and the living. Klaus can't, by the way."

"That must be pretty unnerving for him," Dave says, and starts walking again.

"Well, yeah." Ben's about to say something else, but he sees that Dave has disappeared. So has the ghost in the middle of the road.

So, half a block, then. Not bad.

* * *

Dave can't seem to pick up the knack of reading ghost-copies of books. And he manages a couple of times to press a key on the typewriter, but not hard enough to actually print the corresponding letter on the paper.

"So it's not _just_ Klaus," Vanya deduces. "Ben's using some skill, too."

"I was never all that great at school," Dave says ruefully. "I feel like my fourth grade teacher is glaring at me right now, telling me I just need to _apply_ myself."

"Don't worry about it," Klaus says. "Ben's happy to keep typing for the both of you!"

"Sure," Ben shrugs. And types it: **I don't mind. I love typing!**

Ben practices picking up small objects, too. Just like with the typing, it seems to be much easier for Klaus to feed Ben the power while they're touching. Doing it remotely does seem to be getting a little easier with practice, but after the first nosebleed they decide to _stop_ practicing that for the day.

* * *

"I think you should try not to see me," Dave says to Klaus after lunch.

"Huh?" Klaus says. He's curled up on the couch. His head is on Dave's lap; Dave is playing with his hair. His feet are on Ben's lap, and Ben's leaning over the typewriter, which has been moved to the coffee table. Diego's wandering the room, peeking over at the typewriter whenever he hears the keys clacking; Vanya's in the armchair, and the typewriter is angled so that she can see it too.

Ben types Dave's words, prefixing them with the usual **Dave says**. Klaus still isn't particularly reliable as a medium.

"Ben explained his theory to me while you were napping this morning," Dave says. "About how the drugs never fully blocked your powers. And about how you were choosing to see him but not other ghosts."

Klaus had taken a nap after the picking-up-objects practice brought him to the shivering-and-nosebleed point. And Ben and Dave had discovered, to their mutual delight, that whatever Klaus had done to amp up their ability to see each other outside of his presence also kept working while he was asleep.

"But I don't want to not see you," Klaus objects. "I like you."

Dave smiles down at him fondly. "I like you too. And I want you to have a way to deal with the other ghosts without hurting yourself. I'm a safe ghost you can practice on. I want you to try."

Once Ben has finished typing Dave's words, Vanya and Diego voice their agreement. It sounds like a good plan to them.

"Um, but I really have _no idea_ how to do that," Klaus says.

**Dave should go over to the fireplace,** Ben suggests via the typewriter. He doesn't bother repeating the words aloud; Klaus and Dave can read the text from where they are. **Pretty sure this won't work if you're snuggling.**

"Yeah, right now your connection to Dave is so strong that _we_ can see him," Vanya tells Klaus.

"What, really?" Klaus says. "We're not even kissing."

Diego nods. "He's just a faint blue outline, but yeah. Your head is on his lap. He's stroking your hair."

"You _see_ that," Klaus says wonderingly. "What about my feet?"

"Resting on thin air," Diego says.

**I am mildly offended,** Ben types.

"No, this makes sense," Klaus says. "I am having very different feelings about the head-touching and the feet-touching."

"I certainly hope so," Dave murmurs. Ben chooses not to quote him.

"Well, maybe try _thinking_ about those feelings a little," Vanya suggests. "It might be helpful information for controlling your power."

Klaus makes a little 'hm' noise. "That's very insightful, Vanvan," he says. "Considering you haven't even had a chance to feel out your own power yet."

"I spent a _lot_ of my childhood imagining what it might be like," she says.

Klaus lifts his head. "Okay, Dave, shoo. Over there. Let's try this thing."

As soon as Dave gets up, Vanya and Diego's eyes stop tracking him. Ben doesn't see any difference, though.

Dave goes and stands opposite the couch, in front of the fireplace. He shifts into a nervous-looking parade rest, and Ben remembers him doing the same thing back at Diego's place, before Klaus tried making Dave invisible to Ben the first time.

"If this works," Dave says, "Klaus ... will you bring me back, after?"

Klaus looks shocked at the question. "What?! Yes. Of course I will!"

"Okay," Dave says, and seems to relax a bit.

A moment later, Dave vanishes.

"It worked!" Ben exclaims. He can't believe it was that easy.

Klaus shakes his head, frowning. He looks tense. "I took away your power to see him. It felt like ... I think I had to do that first."

"Huh?" Diego says.

"Oh, I think I'm following," Vanya says. "Ben can't see Dave now, but Klaus still can."

Ben tries to type an affirmation for her, but his fingers waft through the keys.

"I think I need to sit up," Klaus says. Wincing a little, he pushes himself upright, and then sits cross-legged on the couch. He never changed out of Vanya's pajama pants this morning. They're soft and gray, a stretchy cotton-spandex blend, and on Klaus they're capris. In this position their cuffs ride up to his bony knees. He rests his hands on his thighs, palms-up and with his thumbs touching the tips of his middle fingers, like he's about to meditate.

Klaus has tried meditation, a few times. It's never gone well.

"We're with you, buddy," Diego says encouragingly.

Klaus lets out a slow breath and half-closes his eyes.

And then he just sits.

Vanya and Diego watch him closely, almost holding their own breaths. For at least a minute or two.

And then Diego starts looking antsy. He glances over at the wall clock. He stretches his back. He walks over and props himself in the doorway to the kitchen; pulls out a knife and starts spinning it.

Vanya frowns at him and then turns back to Klaus. She seems much more able to handle the stillness.

Five minutes.

And then Klaus's eyes pop all the way open and he draws in a sudden wheezing gasp. His legs scissor out, flailing, and for a moment it looks like he's going to climb sideways over the arm of the sofa but instead he curls into a ball, keening.

"Uh oh," Diego says, sliding the knife away and rushing to Klaus's side.

"Klaus? What happened?" Vanya asks, leaning in from the armchair but not trying to touch him.

Diego has crouched down in the space between the coffee table and the couch and gotten himself level with Klaus's face. He grabs Klaus's wrists, and when he does that, Ben sees that Klaus has already ripped the collar of Vanya's borrowed t-shirt, and left red fingernail-gouges in the pale flesh over his collarbone.

Once Diego has a grip on him, Klaus dissolves. The keening turns into free weeping, dirty hitching sobs just tearing out of him. Diego holds on, looking a little lost.

Vanya gets up and comes back with a tissue box. She places it on the coffee table without comment.

It's several minutes before Klaus's sobs quiet into little hiccups and he goes limp. Diego finally lets go. Ben can see the red imprints of Diego's fingers around Klaus's wrists.

"Klaus, what happened?" Ben asks quietly.

"So I guess it didn't work?" Vanya hazards, at the same time.

"I don't like it when you all talk at once, stop it stop it stop it," Klaus moans.

Vanya looks puzzled.

Diego glances up at her. "Probably Ben and Dave are trying to check on him too."

That raises a good question. "Klaus, is Dave here? I still can't see him."

And then suddenly he can. Dave is right next to Diego, squatting on his heels next to the arm of the couch. He's looking at Klaus with a worried expression, but not currently saying anything.

"Hi Dave," Ben says, mostly just to test if Dave can see him.

Dave looks up, so the answer is clearly yes. "Any idea what went wrong?" he asks Ben.

Ben shakes his head.

"The mausoleum," Klaus says. "I went there."

"Oh, buddy," Diego says. "I'm sorry. Do you need a hug?"

Klaus sniffles and nods.

Diego carefully helps Klaus into something closer to a sitting position, and then sits next to him, wrapping his arms around him.

"So ... that experiment was a failure, I guess," Vanya says.

Klaus shakes his head, tucked against Diego's shoulder. "It sort of worked. For a few seconds before I went to the mausoleum, I couldn't see Dave."

Diego frowns. "Klaus, when you say you 'went to the mausoleum' do you mean literally? Like, something to do with your power?"

"No. Just in my head. Like when it's dark," Klaus says. "Or if I'm coming down sober sometimes." He shudders a little, and nestles himself deeper into Diego's relatively massive arms. "So all of a sudden the ghosts were all with me. But not _really_ with me. They weren't in the room. Just in my head."

"Klaus, do you think you can manage to let me type?" Ben asks.

"I think so," Klaus says. And then remembers to add for Diego and Vanya: "Ben wants to type again. I'll try to let him."

Ben sits on the couch again, resting against Klaus's folded-up legs. "And Klaus—do you think you could keep your eyes shut? I want to talk to Vanya and Diego about what's happening with you. And I think it might make you uncomfortable, reading it."

"Aw, Ben, you know I'm gonna peek. I can resist anything except temptation," Klaus says, but he closes his eyes.

"Huh?" Diego says.

**I asked Klaus not to read what I'm writing right now.** "We can talk about it later, Klaus," Ben promises.

"I can cover his eyes," Diego volunteers.

**NO,** Ben types fast. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Klaus going tense. **That triggers his fear of the dark.** And ask Ben how he knows _that_. He wishes that he didn't have a mental catalog of Klaus's sexual experiences that have gone horribly wrong, but of course he does. **I told him not to peek, but it's not a huge deal if he does. Please tell him out loud that you won't cover his eyes.**

"Klaus, I won't cover your eyes," Diego says immediately. "Sorry. Ben just told me it's a bad idea."

"Okay," Klaus says, visibly relaxing. And then he giggles. "Do you realize that _you_ just told _me_ what Ben's saying? I should refuse to believe you. Just for, like, parity."

"If I start making up stupid shit and claiming that Ben's saying it, then go ahead," Diego retorts, a little acerbically.

**Klaus has PTSD** Ben writes. He thinks it's important to name it.

"Yeah, I figured _that_ out," Vanya says dryly.

"Figured what out?" Klaus asks, and peeks. Then he wilts. "Oh, _that_." He squeezes his eyes shut again, and pretty much just buries his face against Diego's chest. "Okay, Ben was right," he says, muffled. "I don't want to see this."

**His power wasn't always-on when he was a little kid,** Ben writes. **He would see ghosts, and get scared, and they'd vanish. Then Dad locked him in the mausoleum to force him to confront his power. It worked; after that he could only turn it off by getting drunk or high.**

Ben knows all this because Klaus has told him. Klaus doesn't like talking about it, but they've been together constantly for nine years, and Klaus has been having mausoleum-related nightmares and flashbacks the entire time.

**I think trying to turn off his power just now triggered the memory of Dad doing that, pretty intensely.**

Diego frowns. "This sounds like a no-win situation. Seeing ghosts triggers him; trying _not_ to see ghosts _also_ triggers him?"

"I can heeeeeaaaar yoooouuuu," Klaus murmurs against Diego's chest in an anxious sing-song.

"Um, do you want to go to the other room?" Diego offers. "Wait this one out?"

"Then Ben can't talk to us," Vanya reminds him.

"Right." Diego looks stymied.

"Okay, I had a private conversation with Ben once before," Vanya says. "Scooch over, Ben." She slides onto the couch, sitting not-quite-directly in front of the typewriter, courteously leaving room for Ben.

**Why exactly are we hiding this conversation from Klaus?** she asks.

Ben has to elbow her aside a little in order to get his own hands positioned over the keys. Her eyes widen at the bump. **Klaus is really uncomfortable directly confronting his damage,** Ben types. **Normally he would have taken some pills to escape this conversation by now.**

**So he didn't take drugs ONLY to block out the ghosts,** Vanya infers.

Ben notices her use of the past tense there. That's optimistic. **Right. It's the ghosts AND the memories AND the fear. And also he's addicted.** Which is a factor that can't just be brushed aside. Thanks to Klaus, Ben's had the chance to observe a _lot_ of drug addiction, up close and personal.

**You're worried he'll relapse,** Vanya suggests.

**Of course I am,** Ben types. **This is going to be so hard.**

**What can we do to help?** Vanya asks.

It's a beautiful question. It might not have an answer. But Ben tries his best. For the last nine years he's dreamed of finding Klaus this kind of safety. **Give him a place to stay. Encourage him. Don't push him too hard. Also, don't trust him.**

Vanya's brow furrows. **What do you mean, don't trust him?**

**Don't leave cash lying around,** Ben advises, as a for-instance.

Diego gives a knowing, rueful nod to that.

**Should we give up on him trying to use his own power to block out the ghosts?** Vanya asks.

**That's up to Klaus,** Ben says. **But I think he should try again tomorrow.**

He'd said that it had worked for a few seconds before he panicked. That meant it was possible. And being able to choose not to see ghosts would make Klaus's life _so_ much better.

"There's been a looooot of typing," Klaus observes into Diego's chest. "Are you _still_ talking about me?"

"It's okay, we're done," Ben says. And types a quick: **Vanya, hide this page.**

She spins the knob at the side of the roller and frees the sheet of paper. She's just tucking it away when Klaus sits up, blinking owlishly.

"So hey," Klaus says, "Does anybody want cake? Vanya, do you know how to make cake?"

* * *

Vanya does not know how to make cake.

_Dave_ knows how to make cake. He talks them through it. Vanya's kitchen is a mess by the end of it, and all three living siblings are dusted with flour and spattered with batter, but they're laughing.

It's the most fun Ben's had in—maybe _ever_?

While the cake is baking, they settle back in the living room, and have another typewriter-assisted conversation.

They talk about Allison's movies. It's something they all have in common: they've all seen every single one.

Dave's eyes widen suddenly. "Allison Hargreeves is your _sister_."

"Right, right, our most famous sib," Klaus says. "She's gorgeous, isn't she? And so ... compelling."

**Dave just caught on that Allison is one of us,** Ben explains.

"Of course we were all famous when we were kids," Klaus adds. "Did you see the action figures?"

"Actually, yes," Dave says. "And I saw some magazine covers, and the second half of a couple of bits about you on the news. I mean, at the time I didn't _know_ that it was you. But the umbrella logo looked like your tattoo. And, well, kids with strange powers? So I thought maybe. It's why I came here, to this city."

While Ben's typing all that up, Klaus asks: "You've been haunting these digs since our _press debut_? Weird that I never saw you before."

"No, no, I stayed away until about eighteen months ago," Dave says. "It would've been way too weird to see you as a kid. What I was really hoping was to find you when you got back from Vietnam. I didn't know what year you'd come from, or even exactly how old you were, so the timing was a rough guess."

There's a pause, while Ben catches up. Klaus is running his fingers through the leather fringes of Dave's vest, looking entranced. It's really amazing the extent to which being sober has failed to change his spacey fidgets.

"So, sometime maybe not too far in the future, Klaus is going to time travel back to the Vietnam War," Diego says, looking disturbed. He obviously hasn't stopped to think about this since he started believing in Dave. "That's ... not good, though. Right?"

**It might not happen now that Dave has changed things,** Ben suggests. He's been wondering about this himself.

"But if it doesn't happen, how could Dave know Klaus?" Vanya asks.

"Well, but it _already_ happened for _him_ ," Klaus says.

"Pretty sure this is why Dad always told Five not to time travel," Diego mutters.

"Dave, _how_ did Klaus time travel?" Vanya asks.

Dave repeats what he told Klaus and Ben the day he led them to Diego: that Klaus had had a time machine. That he had arrived in Vietnam accidentally. That he had been running from something, but Dave never found out what.

He adds information that he didn't give them before: "When you dropped out of nowhere at the foot of my cot in the middle of the night, you were nearly naked, covered in injuries and sick with withdrawal."

"So ... could've been this week, then?" Diego suggests warily, reading Dave's words off the typewriter.

Dave shakes his head. "Different injuries."

While Ben types that, Dave looks pensive. Before anybody else says anything, he adds: "I'm trying to decide if it's a good idea or a bad idea to tell Klaus what the time machine looked like."

"Good idea," Klaus says promptly, since he doesn't have to wait for Ben to type Dave's words. "Because then I can avoooooid...oh. Wait, no. I don't want to avoid meeting you!"

Dave nods. "Yeah. That's my concern. If I tell you what the time machine looks like, does that make you more likely to use it? Klaus, _don't_ go to the Vietnam War if you can possibly avoid it. _Promise me._ I know that your life up to this point has been pretty terrible. Please believe me when I tell you: it has not prepared you for the war. War is a hell that you can't even imagine. _Especially_ for you."

A lot of ghosts, in a war. There would have to be. Shit.

Klaus looks chastened. "Yeah, that makes sense," he says. "Okay, I promise to try not to go there. As long as it doesn't seem like I'm going to make the universe explode from the paradox or whatever. What does the time machine look like?"

"A briefcase," Dave says. "An unusually thick, black briefcase."

Klaus laughs. "Okay, this should be easy. Why the hell would I ever want to touch a _briefcase_? Yuck."

* * *

Not long after that, the cake is ready.

Vanya takes it out of the oven and starts cutting steaming, crumbling pieces directly from the pan and scooping them onto plates. They're fluffy and golden, and they look delicious.

Three plates.

"Okay," Klaus says. "Ben, I want you to possess me now."

Everyone, living and dead, stares at him.

"What?" Ben says.

Klaus grins. "The cake was for _you_! Surprise!"

"Um, Klaus, are you sure that's a good idea?" asks Dave, in the tone of somebody who's thinks that it's not.

"Klaus, you don't have to do this," Ben says, because he's pretty sure that's what a good brother would say. (But he wants it, oh God does he want it.)

"Yes I do!" Klaus says cheerfully. "I don't even _want_ cake! It'll just go to waste if you don't possess me. Look at Diego and Vanya. They can't possibly eat a whole cake by themselves!"

"But what about—when I did it last time. The seizure?"

Klaus flaps a hand in an unconcerned wave. "Pretty sure it'll go more smoothly if I'm not fighting you."

"You're sure?" Ben asks, one more time. (Please say yes.)

The look Klaus gives him is clear, sane and sober. "Yes," he says. "Ben. Let me do this for you." He stands in the middle of the kitchen and holds out his arms. Crucifixion pose, because of course Klaus can't not be dramatic. But the smile he gives Ben is gentle and welcoming. "Bye Dave," he adds over his shoulder. "See you later."

Ben tries to think about how this will work. He's only done it once before, and that was accidental and in anger.

He stands in front of Klaus and holds his own arms out, mirroring him. And then he steps ... in.

And then he's facing the sink, instead of the stove. And there's gravity and the smell of cake and the kitchen is so _warm_ , and—

_breathe_

He gasps. His breath catches, and he starts coughing. And it hurts, _fuck_...

"Hey Klaus, are you okay?" Diego says, catching his arm and stopping his incipient sideways stumble into the counter. "Do you need to sit down?"

Ben shakes his head, and takes a few carefully shallow breaths, letting the spike of pain recede. "I kind of forgot about the pneumonia and the broken ribs," he says. "And I'm not used to _breathing_."

"You're not used to—" Diego starts to repeat, looking confused.

But Vanya gets it. "Ben?!"

Ben feels a giant grin spreading on his face (Klaus's face). "Yeah."

Diego's eyes widen. " _Ben_ ," he chokes out, and grabs Ben in a bear hug.

"Ow ow ow—" Ben yelps out in quick reminder.

Diego lets go fast. "Oh shit, right," he says, looking abashed. "Because it's still Klaus's body, so it's still—"

"Kind of a mess, yeah," Ben says. "But actually it feels a lot better than it did two days ago." The first time he possessed Klaus, _everything_ hurt. Now it only hurts when he breathes.

Vanya moves in for a hug, too, but she does it carefully. "Ben," she sighs against him. "This is so weird. But it feels like we finally have you back."

"I was never really gone," Ben reminds her. "But yeah. I know what you mean."

"Do you want to eat the cake?" Vanya asks.

"Yes," Ben says. "I really, really do."

They sit at the table. The extra chairs are still there from before, but from Ben's point of view they're empty.

"Is Dave still here?" Diego asks, probably also noticing the chairs.

Ben shrugs (Klaus's shoulders). "Probably. But I can't see him. Klaus's power doesn't transfer to me when I do this."

"What about Klaus?" Vanya asks.

Good question. Ben remembers Klaus's back-of-the-taxi analogy. "I think he has an awareness of what's happening," he says. "He'll probably remember it, after. But I can't communicate with him right now."

"It's funny," Vanya says, "I would've thought that I'd have to keep reminding myself that you're Ben, not Klaus. But actually it's really obvious."

"Really?" Ben cocks his head curiously. "How?"

"You move different than he does," Diego says instantly. " _And_ you talk different."

Well, that's not surprising. Klaus has such a distinctive physical presence. Ben, not so much.

But there's cake.

Ben uses the edge of the fork to cut a bite-sized piece. He remembers doing this, when he was alive. He scoops the morsel onto the fork, and lifts it carefully towards his mouth. He has to be careful not to tilt the fork. Maybe he should have speared the piece—but it looked too crumbly.

There are bruises on Klaus's fingertips, from where he bit them last night during the nightmare. Ben can feel them, faintly, where he's holding the fork.

The cake is hovering in front of his mouth now. The smell is incredible.

Ben can feel the saliva pooling in his mouth. He'd forgotten about that. As a ghost, his mouth isn't _dry_ , exactly, but of course there are no smells for him to respond to.

He puts the bite of cake in his mouth. Feels the smooth tines of the fork sliding away between his lips—he remembers not to bite down on them.

The taste.

It's warm, and oh so sweet. A hint of molasses from the brown sugar they used. The texture is soft, crumbling and then dissolving on his tongue.

Vanya and Diego are staring at him, looking bemused.

Ben swallows, and lets out a soft, happy sigh. "That's the first thing I've tasted in nine years."

Diego smiles. "It's good, huh?"

Ben nods. The whole thing is a little overwhelming.

Sitting at a table with his siblings. Chatting. Eating cake.

This is an incredible gift that Klaus has given him.

* * *

They eat their cake, and they talk about their lives. Vanya talks about teaching young students at the conservatory. Some of them sound pretty funny. There's a little girl who arrives at her lesson with earthworms in her pockets every time it rains. Diego tells them about his amateur boxing career. He boxes under a pseudonym—'The Kraken'—and hasn't let anyone know that he's one of the Umbrella Academy kids.

Ben doesn't have much to share, since he doesn't have a life. He has _Klaus's_ life, but bringing that up would bring down the mood, and anyway he doesn't want to talk to Vanya and Diego about Klaus's tragic existence while Klaus is probably listening.

So Ben just talks about some books that he's enjoyed reading.

Too soon, it's over. They've finished their cake, and Ben is feeling tired. Klaus's body is feeling tired.

"I think I should lie down before I leave Klaus," Ben says. "Just to be safe."

Vanya and Diego escort him to the bedroom. He lies down in the middle of the bed, arms flat at his sides.

"Hey, uh, it's been really great spending time with you guys," he says.

"I hope we can do it again soon," Diego says. His eyes look a little wet. "If Klaus is okay with it, I mean."

And then Ben tries to imagine moving out of Klaus. How to do it _gently_.

He holds his breath (Klaus's breath) and sits up without sitting up.

All sense of physicality is abruptly gone. Ben is a ghost again.

He moves quickly to the side so that he's not sitting _inside_ Klaus, and turns to look at his brother.

Klaus blinks at the ceiling, giggles, and starts to shake.

"Uh oh," Diego says.

"I-I'm o-okk-k-aayy," Klaus stutters out around violently chattering teeth.

"Hot water bottle, I'm on it," Vanya says, and hurries away.

"Klaus, thank you _so_ much," Ben says.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year! I have a few announcements. (If you started reading this fic _after_ January 1st, 2021, you can ignore this note.)
> 
> 1) I have finished writing this story! Hooray! So from now on I'll be updating twice a week, probably Mondays and Fridays. There are 34 chapters in total.
> 
> 2) I changed the character tags. In particular, I've removed Allison's tag, and replaced it with "other characters make appearances." Allison _is_ in the story, but only briefly as it turns out, and there are several other characters from canon who will also make cameos. If you were reading this fic hoping for lots of Allison content, I apologize profusely! At this point in the timeline, she's pretty busy with her baby and her career; she just doesn't have a lot of time to appear in this story!
> 
> 3) Finally, I added a tag for "canon-typical violence," since there ended up being some. These kids just can't stay out of trouble, you know?
> 
> If you started reading this story back when it was chapter 1/?, thank you for your faith in me, and I hope you like where it all ends up!
> 
> ~ January 1st, 2021

Klaus is okay after a couple of minutes. Really okay, not just claiming to be okay; the shivering stops, and he doesn't seem to be suffering any other aftereffects from being possessed. Dave shows up again, and fusses over Klaus. Klaus allows it—actually, Klaus laps it up.

After that Klaus has another nap, lasting until dinner time. Vanya's hypothetical power continues to fail to manifest, and everybody passes the rest of the afternoon quietly. Ben can't see Dave while Klaus is asleep, so apparently _that_ didn't get turned on again, unfortunately.

When Vanya wakes Klaus up for dinner, Klaus (after Vanya leaves the bedroom) offers Ben the chance to possess him again.

Which Ben declines, with a bit of regret, because even without Dave giving him the stink-eye, he's pretty sure that would be asking too much of Klaus.

"No, come on, you're better at eating than I am," Klaus half-cajoles, half-whines. "I don't even _like_ eating."

Ben stares at him. "Klaus? Are you trying to off-load your _bodily functions_ onto me?"

"Only the ones you'd enjoy," Klaus says.

"No," Ben says. "I don't think that would be healthy."

"It would be super healthy!" Klaus says. "You'd probably eat vegetables!"

"No, I mean, I don't think it would be _emotionally_ healthy," Ben clarifies. "I really, really appreciate what you did for me this afternoon. I hope we can do it again sometime. But ... Klaus, it's _your_ body. You're responsible for taking care of it."

"Think of it as _our_ body now!" Klaus suggests brightly.

Ben resists the impulse to facepalm. "That's not..." He's not even sure how to respond to that.

Klaus has been erasing himself with drugs since he was a teenager. He's been sober for a week. Ben doesn't want to become Klaus's new way to erase himself.

"If we set up the typewriter at the table, Vanya and Diego will be able to talk with _both_ of you over dinner," Dave points out. "I think they'd like that."

"No, they really prefer Ben," Klaus says.

Ben remembers the warmth and joy with which Vanya and Diego greeted him when he was in Klaus's body. Which Klaus would have seen, riding as a passenger behind his own eyes.

They've never looked at Klaus like that, have they?

"I've been dead for nine years," Ben points out. "They _missed_ me. But look at everything they're doing for you, Klaus. Obviously they love you too."

"Love, sure, familial obligation, et cetera," Klaus says. "But they don't _like_ me."

Ouch.

"Well, it's complicated," Ben concedes. " _You're_ complicated."

"It's not complicated," Klaus says. "I'm trash. I _know_ I am. Nobody likes me, except for sex. _You_ don't even like me! You're just _stuck_ with me."

"That's not ... exactly..." Ben stalls. He can't just keep repeating _it's complicated_. But his feelings about Klaus can't be properly explained in less than, say, a two thousand word essay. With footnotes.

" _I_ like you, Klaus," Dave jumps in firmly.

"Well, but you're stuck with me too, aren't you?" Klaus says, turning to him. "Don't get me wrong, I like you, you're nice, but—it's not like there are any other fish in the sea as far as you're concerned. I'm the only person in the world who can _see_ you."

"I'm not stuck," Dave says. "I could have gone into the light any time in the past 46 years. I stayed for you, Klaus."

"Oh hey, me too, actually," Ben adds.

"What?" Klaus tilts his head, giving Ben a puzzled look. "I thought I pulled you away from it that one time and you got trapped here."

"No, it's still there," Ben says. "I can always feel it. It's hard to describe, but I have this constant sense that I could just ... let go."

"Ben ... this whole time, you've been _choosing_ to stay with me?"

Ben decides that this is not the time to clarify how afraid he is of the light. The truth is: if he didn't have Klaus, he would have let go and fallen in a long, long time ago. "Yes, Klaus," he says. "I have."

Klaus starts to cry.

"Oh, uh." Ben sits next to him, feeling awkward. "Klaus, can you make it so that I can hug you?"

Klaus nods and whimpers and wraps his arms around Ben, smushing his face into Ben's shoulder.

The bedroom door opens and Vanya peeks in. "Klaus, are you _coming_ to supper, or—? Oh. Hi, Ben. Klaus, are you okay?"

* * *

They set up the table for dinner as follows:

Klaus and Ben sit opposite each other. Ben has the typewriter with a fresh sheet of paper. Under the table, they hook their ankles together.

Dave sits next to Klaus. If there's touching happening under the table, Ben can't see it.

Vanya and Diego sit pretty tight on either side of Ben, so that they can both see the typewriter.

Dinner is a macaroni and cheese casserole, with broccoli on the side. It reminds Ben of a meal that Mom would have made. He's a little sad that he didn't take Klaus up on his possession offer—but no, Ben's pretty sure he made the right call there.

**Klaus is worried that nobody likes him,** Ben types.

Klaus looks at him suspiciously. "What did you just say? Vanya and Diego's faces went all frowny."

**He noticed that you were a lot happier to see him when he was me.** "I'm telling them about your existential crisis."

"Klaus, I'm so sorry," Vanya says. "That's not what that was. Of course we like you. We were just really excited to see Ben."

"Speak for yourself, Van," Diego says, and spears a noodle with his fork. "I don't like Klaus."

Ben frowns at Diego. **Diego, I thought maybe you and Vanya could reassure Klaus that you DO like him? He's sober for the first time ever as an adult and I think that facing up to the wreck he's made of his life is a little rough and maybe we can SUPPORT him?**

"Yeah, I don't think _lying_ to him is gonna be helpful," Diego says. He looks at Klaus. "You come to me when you're desperate, I try to get you on your feet again, and then you steal from me and run away. That's our pattern. What's to like?"

Klaus leans back in his chair, looking loose and tragic. "Diego the truth-teller, making sure my many faults are laid bare. I guess without Luther around, the role does fall to you."

Dave, next to Klaus, is giving him a worried look. And Ben is pretty sure he's squeezing Klaus's knee under the table.

And of course Diego winces at Luther's name. "Klaus, I'm not trying to be a _jerk_. I'm just being real with you."

**Could we be less real?** Ben begs, in writing. **Diego, I think Klaus is really fragile right now.**

Diego grimaces. "Ben is not happy with me at the moment," he tells Klaus. "I guess he's pretty protective of you. Makes sense."

"Klaus, I like your makeup," Vanya says abruptly.

Klaus blinks. "Okay. Well, that's something."

"I mean, I've always liked the way you took bits of Allison's outfits and—okay, I was about to say you didn't care if they were girly, but that's not right, is it? You did care, and that's why you wore them. I like that about you."

Klaus tilts his head, looking like he's not sure how to take that. "You like that I'm queer?"

"I like that you're brave and strong enough to be _explicitly_ queer, even around people who might not react well to it. I have always admired that about you."

"Me too, by the way," Dave says quietly, with a little smile for Klaus.

"Klaus, I like your laugh," Diego speaks up. "I like seeing you do nice things for Ben, like the cake this afternoon, and I guess letting him read books all these years. I like... um..." He trails off, and finally huffs out a frustrated breath. "I'm trying, okay? Listen. Ben _died_. Nine years ago. We lost him. I know _you_ didn't lose him, exactly, but we did, and—fuck, it hurt so much. So having him back, these past couple of days, of _course_ we're really excited to see him. But, here's the thing. We started losing _you_ bit by bit when we were 13 and you started drinking."

Klaus frowns. "Well, it's not like I _died_."

"No, but you haven't really been _here_ , either. You know? You're in _front_ of me, but you're saying random shit or just spacing out when I talk to you."

**Diego, I know what you mean,** Ben types quickly. **I've been haunting him for 9 years. He's barely been there, most of the time.**

**But he's here now.**

Diego contemplates the typewriter page for a moment, and then nods. "Klaus," he says, "Ben's making a good point."

"Elaborate, please," Klaus says, in a thin voice. "He's not talking to me, currently."

"Sorry," Ben says to Klaus. "I wasn't trying to shut you out, I was just distracted with the typing."

Diego speaks at the same time as Ben, of course. "Vanya and I have been really excited to see Ben. Well, not _see_ exactly, but—you know what I mean. Anyway. You're here too, _really_ here, sober and everything, and in a way that's just as big a deal."

Klaus is looking confused and slightly teary. "Is it? Maybe it shouldn't be. That's a lot of pressure on my brand-new sobriety, Deegogo."

Diego gets up and goes around the table to Klaus. "Stand up," he tells him.

Warily, Klaus does so, unfolding himself into a slightly unsteady upright position. Diego was standing right up by Klaus's chair, on the non-Dave side, so when Klaus stands up he's planted well inside Diego's personal space. They stand nearly nose-to-nose for a moment, looking at each other. Then Diego gives a little smile and tugs Klaus into a gentle hug.

"Hey, buddy," he says. "Welcome back. It's good to see you. I missed you."

Klaus starts to cry again. Diego holds on, making an absent 'shhhh' sound and rocking slightly on his feet.

"This is good, right?" Dave says to Ben. He sounds uncertain.

"Yeah," Ben assures him, watching the residual sadness and new hope play out on Diego's face. "It's good."

* * *

When bedtime comes, Vanya invites Dave to stay in the room. "I mean, why not?" she says, sounding a little resigned and a little amused. "Everybody _else_ is going to be in bed with me."

"Seriously, do you want me to go out to the couch?" Diego asks.

Vanya shakes her head quickly. "I want you here. I think the pills may actually be wearing off. I'm starting to feel different. ... Brighter? Sharper."

"Do you want to stay up, then?" Diego asks. "And see what happens?"

"No, I don't want to be sleep-deprived when I experience my power for the first time," Vanya decides.

So they arrange themselves the same way as last night: Vanya tucked in between Diego and Klaus (a little squished), and Dave on the outside, next to Klaus. Ben sits at the foot of the bed; technically he's _on_ Vanya and Diego's feet, but they can't feel his weight, so it won't bother them.

Vanya did laundry during the day, so Klaus has changed back into Diego's loose black workout clothes. And he hasn't even complained about how they look on him.

Ever since the hug at dinner, Klaus and Diego have been a little warmer with each other. Ben would be hard-pressed to explain exactly _how_ , but he's sure of what he's seeing. A mutual wariness has fallen away. Klaus isn't looking at Diego like he might handcuff him again at any moment; Diego isn't looking at Klaus like he wants to.

Ben wonders if that dynamic between Klaus and Diego had been his fault, a little.

Well, it was mostly Klaus's fault. Clearly. For all the times he burned Diego when Diego tried to help him.

But Ben was maybe a little guilty too. For the past nine years (seven of them, anyway, up until two years ago when Diego moved and they lost track of him) Ben has treated Diego like a resource.

Ben's primary goal has always been to keep Klaus alive. Diego was a means to that end. Since he was Klaus's port of last resort, Ben used him sparingly, only cajoling Klaus to visit Diego when the situation was getting really desperate. When Klaus was freezing and starving and at the end of his rope.

And for years, Ben made sure that Klaus kept Diego's phone number in his pocket. Since it was the _only_ thing resembling contact information on his person, that meant Diego got the call whenever Klaus was rushed to the ER with an overdose. It happened for the first time in 2008, and again in 2011 and 2012. (Actually Diego missed the _January_ 2012 overdose—he only knows about the August one—because in January somebody went through Klaus's pockets and stole everything before the paramedics came.)

So in other words, since they both left home, Diego has only ever seen Klaus at his worst.

Not that Klaus's _best_ has ever been all that good. But maybe Ben should have tried to talk Klaus into visiting Diego once in a while when he was relatively stable. When he was fun-high, instead of sad-and-out-of-it high. Maybe a few social visits when Klaus didn't even _need_ a place to stay would have helped.

Oh well. Too late now. And maybe it's going to be okay after all.

* * *

Before Klaus falls asleep, Ben asks him if he can try to give Ben and Dave the power to see each other during the night.

"Only if it won't drain you, though," Dave says quickly.

"I think it's okay," Klaus says. "It feels like ... hm. Remembering to turn on a light switch. I don't have to stand there holding it. It just stays on."

"It's okay, Klaus, we're leaving the lights on," Diego mumbles, half-asleep already.

"That's not what I was—oh, never mind," Klaus says.

* * *

Dave holds Klaus's hands while Klaus falls asleep. Watching, Ben can see exactly when Klaus drifts off—one moment, their fingers are solidly entwined, and the next, Klaus's hands drop limply to the bed.

But Dave doesn't disappear.

"Oh hey, it worked!" Ben whispers.

Dave smiles at him. "Nice," he whispers back.

"Come over here so we can talk without waking Klaus up," Ben suggests, still whispering, patting the blankets beside himself. There's no danger of them disturbing Vanya or Diego, but Ben has managed to wake Klaus up by yelling at him in the past.

Dave sits up and moves down to Ben's end of the bed—carefully, as though there were a chance he could bump the sleeping siblings' feet. "So that was quite a day, huh?" he says.

"I got to really be with Diego and Vanya for the first time in nine years," Ben says. "So ... yeah." He looks at Dave. "Do you think you'd ever want to...?"

"Possess Klaus?" Dave looks appalled. "No."

Ben finds that reassuring, actually. Maybe it's hypocritical, but the idea of some other ghost taking over Klaus's body makes Ben really uncomfortable. "So hey, you've really been waiting to see Klaus again for _forty-six years_? That must have been so lonely." Ben felt like he might go mad from the loneliness when Klaus was angry and refusing to speak with him for a few days. He can't imagine spending _decades_ with nobody to talk to.

Dave shrugs. "At first, I guess. Then I got used to it. And it doesn't really feel like it was that long. I mean, it feels like I was alive, I died, I went into a kind of holding pattern where time didn't really count ... and now I'm alive again."

"I'm amazed that you made it that long on your own, though," Ben says, still caught on that. "If I didn't have Klaus, I think I would have gone into the light a long time ago."

Then he hugs his knees and avoids looking at Dave, because he's just confessed to this almost-a-stranger that Ben's fragile, self-absorbed junkie brother is the only thing standing between Ben and the ghost version of suicide. And he's not sure he should have revealed that.

But Dave doesn't react like that's what Ben said. "Thanks," he says warmly. "For sticking around and looking after him. I guess it wasn't exactly easy for you."

And that makes Ben feel obscurely guilty. Because yeah, he's been looking after Klaus for nine years and it _hasn't_ been easy, but he hasn't felt like he's doing it selflessly. He looks after Klaus because he _needs_ Klaus. Klaus is his air and his water. "Are you afraid of the light?" Ben decides to ask Dave. Because it kind of sounds like he isn't.

"What?" Dave looks at him like that's a weird question to even ask. "No. Why would I be afraid of heaven?"

"That's what you think the light is? Heaven?"

"Or the Garden of Eden. Something like that. Not like I ever paid all that much attention in Hebrew school." Dave frowns thoughtfully. "Why, what do you think it is?"

"Oblivion."

"Are you telling me you're an _atheist_?" Dave scrunches his forehead up. "But you're a _ghost_!"

"Yeah, so?"

"So, doesn't this prove, like..." Dave waves a hand vaguely, " _everything_?"

"All we actually know is that the energy of our personalities persists somehow after we die," Ben points out. "That doesn't tell us anything about what comes after this."

"But the light is so warm," Dave says. "And _bright_."

"So's ground zero of a nuclear explosion," Ben says.

"Yeeeeah, I think we're just going to have to agree to disagree," Dave says. "I know what I know."

Ben shrugs. "Okay." And then he thinks about it for a second, and realizes: "So you must _really_ love Klaus. To wait around for him for 46 years instead of going to heaven."

Dave lets out a little puff of a laugh. "I guess that's one way of putting it." Then he looks at Klaus, kind of pensively. "So, here's the thing. Where we left it, in Vietnam—he was right beside me when I got killed. And I was _there_ , ghost-me I mean, by my dead body, watching him fall apart. He couldn't see me. Maybe he still had enough dope in his system that I was blocked, or maybe I just wasn't good enough at being a ghost yet. Anyway, the last I saw of him, he'd gone back to the briefcase—which he always said he was never going to do, he wanted to live in the '70s with me and we were going to see Pink Floyd perform live—he cracked the seal, and he disappeared."

"So you wanted to say good-bye?"

"I didn't want to leave him like that. He was ... _shattered_." Dave hugs his own knees, looking over at Klaus. "I thought—I mean, my _initial_ thought was, if I could figure out when he was born and where he lived, then I could bide my time and then pop up when he came back from Vietnam. For him it would be _right_ after, so I could let him know I was okay, and then..." Dave trails off with a sad grin and a shrug. "Maybe this is better, though. I mean, that plan was always impractical. He never told me what year he came from or exactly how old he was. So my chances of catching him right at the time jump were always pretty slim. And then I got here and searched for a year and a half without finding him, and I started to worry that I'd _never_ find him."

"And then when you did, he didn't know you," Ben finishes. "That must've been painful."

"A little," Dave says. "Not as painful as seeing how sick he was. I knew he'd been homeless and had some bad times, but—he always kind of told it like an adventure, you know? Anyway. If this whole thing works out with going sober, and getting more control over his power—that's definitely not the background he had when I met him in Vietnam. So I think maybe I've changed things, and he's never going to go there."

"And he'll never experience whatever you had together there," Ben points out. "Does that bother you?"

"Nah," Dave says. "I remember it. And he's still _him_. Maybe we'll have something here, too. Maybe not, and once I know he's okay, I can go peacefully. Either way, I'm glad I found him."

Ben thinks about where they were before Dave found them, and where they are now. Things are _so_ much better. "I'm glad you found us too," he says, with feeling.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited to finally get to this one! I hope you enjoy it!

Dave still hasn't got the hang of picking up books, so Ben spends the night reading _Dune: Messiah_ to him out loud. It's pleasant. Ben has never had _company_ before, while Klaus sleeps. He could get used to this.

Halfway through the night, one of the siblings starts twitching, and it isn't Klaus. It's Vanya.

"Should we do something?" Dave asks Ben.

Ben shrugs. "What could we do?"

"Well, we could try to wake Klaus up," Dave points out.

"Let's wait and see if she wakes up or settles down on her own," Ben suggests. In _theory_ he can wake Klaus up by yelling at him, but in practice Klaus is pretty good at not hearing Ben when he wants to stay asleep.

Vanya murmurs something wordless, sounding distressed. And then she's quiet for a bit. And then she rolls over—switching from facing Diego to facing Klaus—and whimpers something that sounds like "Let me out."

And the windowpane starts to rattle.

"Oh, uh, I think we should wake Klaus up now," Dave says, looking alarmed.

"On it." Ben ghost-moves over to Klaus's side, not bothering with the transition. "Klaus, get up!" he calls into his brother's ear.

"Mmmrph," Klaus says without opening his eyes, and bats a hand vaguely through Ben's torso.

"let me out let me out," Vanya is moaning. The window's rattling increases.

"Something's happening with Vanya! Klaus, get _up_!" Ben insists.

Klaus blinks his eyes open blearily and pulls down the oxygen mask. "Ben? What?"

"Try to wake Vanya up," Ben says quickly. "I think she's having a bad dream and something's happening. Can you hear the window vibrating?"

"Oh, gosh," Klaus murmurs, and slips the elastic of the mask off over his head. He sits up and carefully shakes Vanya's shoulder. "Vanvan? You wanna wake up?"

Vanya sits bolt upright and stares wide-eyed at Klaus. "He locked me in the basement."

"Who did what?"

But Vanya's scrambling off the bed, past Klaus's feet. She stumble-runs out of the room, catching herself against two separate walls on her way out.

As soon as she's out of the room, the window goes still.

"Follow her!" Ben urges Klaus.

"Wake Diego up!" Dave counters.

Ben nods. "Right, do that!"

Klaus gives Diego a little poke and then recoils quickly. "Diego-wake-up-don't-knife-me!"

"Wha?" Diego looks three-quarters-asleep for about half a second and then he's fully awake, on his feet, knife in hand. So Klaus's caution was understandable. "Where's Vanya?"

"She went that way," Klaus says, waving at the now open bedroom door.

"Her power?" Diego asks.

Klaus shrugs. "Might be another false alarm, but Ben and Dave are freaking out at me. Something about the window."

Diego looks toward the window, which of course isn't doing anything now.

"Tell him to go after her!" Ben says.

Klaus swings his legs over the side of the bed. "We should see what's up," he says. "She said something about being locked in the basement."

"What basement?" Diego asks. He's heading for the hallway already.

"How should I know?" Klaus returns, trailing after him. "I haven't seen Vanya since I ran away from home!"

Vanya's in the dining nook, and she's on the phone. The cord is wrapped three times around her wrist and her fingers are white-knuckled on the receiver. Her eyes are wild, and she doesn't track Diego and Klaus when they come in.

There's a low rattling from all the kitchen cupboards, like a barely-perceptible earthquake is underway.

When Ben gets close enough to Vanya, he can hear the phone ringing at the other end of the line. And then it stops and he hears a woman say "Hello?"

"Allison, it's me," Vanya says. Her voice is tight, but calmer than her eyes. "When we were kids, did you rumor me to believe I didn't have a superpower?"

Ben can see Klaus and Diego's startled reactions to that.

"What?" says Allison's voice, distant, on the other end of the line. And then, "Oh my God, did that really happen? I thought it was a dream."

Vanya's eyes flash white-blue. And the rattling becomes a roar.

Diego says "Uh oh," which Ben picks up only by lip-reading, because the apartment is filled now with an ultimate sub-woofer of a standing wave of sound. Klaus is pressing the heels of his hands to his ears and wincing.

All around the living room and kitchen, small objects lift off of the surfaces they're sitting on, hover for a moment, and then start to circle the room.

The phone falls away from Vanya's fingers. Her face has gone white—not _pale_ , like Klaus when he's overdosing, but _white_ , like someone snuck in and put stage makeup on her.

Diego's trying to get to her, and he's advancing slowly like he's up against a hurricane-force wind. Klaus still has his hands on his ears and he's yelling something at Vanya—Ben thinks it's just her name.

Diego gets to Vanya. He reaches out, and Ben has a moment of alarm, remembering the knife that had been in Diego's hand, but the knife isn't in evidence now. Diego grabs Vanya's shoulders and very firmly pulls her into a hug against his chest.

She's still rigid and panic-eyed and white, and the objects are still circling the room, but for a moment they all _dip_ , and the overwhelming bass hum falters.

Diego leans his face against Vanya's ear and says, "Vanya, tell me the rainbow!"

Ben is confused for a moment, but then he remembers Dave using that trick to calm Klaus down last night. Diego must be remembering it too.

" _What_?" Vanya says, totally bewildered.

Bewildered but distracted. Every floating object in the room simultaneously drops. The crashing and clattering rings in Ben's ears almost like silence, because the bass noise has just stopped.

Klaus blinks, scrambles over and wraps his arms around Vanya _and_ Diego. "Okay," he says. "Looks like you have a power, Vanvan. Congratulations!"

Vanya lets out a choked laugh, squished between her brothers. Her face has gone back to its normal color.

And then a new noise starts up—higher-pitched this time, a rhythmic, screeching bleat.

Klaus moans and presses his hands to his ears again, stepping back from his siblings.

Vanya flinches, but then identifies it: "The building fire alarm. There's a fire?"

"Um, I think that was probably us," Diego says.

 _Us_ , Ben notices immediately. Not _you_. Whether Diego made that choice consciously or not, Ben thinks it was a good one.

Vanya is _scary_ powerful. She's just found out that that she was drugged and mind-controlled and that her whole life was a lie.

This is the kind of thing that could potentially turn out badly.

"Hey, we should probably evacuate," Dave says. "What if there's really a fire?"

* * *

They stand outside on the sidewalk, a tight little cluster apart from the other pajama-clad residents of the building.

"You okay, Van?" Diego asks. In the hurry of throwing coats and boots on over their sleepwear and bare feet, they haven't talked yet about what just happened.

"No," she says immediately. "I feel like—I had a dream? Only it wasn't a dream. It was the last _real_ thing in my life, and everything after that was the dream. Dad locked me in a room in the basement. The door ... in my memory, it's like the door of a submarine. That doesn't make sense, though, does it? And the room was filled with all these soft foam spikes ... oh my God," she interrupts herself. "I _know_ what those were. They were sound baffles."

"Hey, I know what she's talking about," Ben realizes. "After I died, once I could walk through walls, I explored the whole mansion. I found that room. I had no idea what it was for."

"Ben found your cell," Klaus tells Vanya. "When he started haunting the Academy. He didn't know what is was, though."

"My power is based on sound." Vanya looks awestruck. "Do you think that's why I became a musician?"

"Sounds plausible," Diego says.

Klaus shivers. "W-why did he lock you up and drug you, though? Y-your power would have been g-great on missions."

"Fasten your coat, Klaus," Ben murmurs.

"Hey, do up your coat, dipshit," Diego says simultaneously, and then just reaches over and fastens Klaus's buttons without even bothering to wait for Klaus to do it himself.

"Ha," Ben says, satisfied with the team-up.

Vanya, meanwhile, has a look of dawning horror on her face. "I think I killed my nanny."

"Your nanny?" Diego repeats, looking confused. "We didn't have nannies. We had Mom."

"Wait wait wait no, I think I remember this," Klaus says. "There was a human woman. She used to speak to me in German and give me pfeffernusse."

"I didn't want to eat the porridge," Vanya says in a tiny voice.

"Hey," Diego says, and takes her shoulder. "Hey. If we're talking before Mom—I remember Mom making birthday cakes for us when we turned five. So whatever you're remembering, it's from before that. You were practically a baby."

"Raising super-powered kids has got to be tough," Dave says. "I remember looking after my little cousin. When she was three, four? The tantrums she had sometimes—man. If I hadn't been able to physically pick her up and carry her to her room and let her scream it out safely, I don't know what would have happened."

Ben turns to Klaus, to remind him to repeat Dave's story for Vanya—but Klaus has just wandered off.

He's interacting with one of the neighbors. As Ben watches, Klaus laughs, and the neighbor laughs, and the neighbor hands Klaus a cigarette. Klaus puts it between his lips, and the neighbor lights it.

Klaus weaves his way back to Diego and Vanya, looking very pleased with himself.

"So what was that about Allison rumoring you?" Diego is asking.

"It's really hard to remember," Vanya says. "It keeps slipping away when I think about it. But ... I think she told me ... I was just ordinary?"

"Makes sense, I guess," Diego says. "If Dad didn't want you to—" he turns and notices Klaus. "Hey!" Faster than Klaus can react, Diego snatches the cigarette out of Klaus's mouth, throws it to the pavement, and crushes it under his heel. "What the fuck, Klaus?"

"What the fuck _Diego_!" Klaus returns. "Boundaries! Have you heard of them?"

"You're going clean," Diego says. " _You_ said so."

"Ummm, it was a fucking _cigarette_ ," Klaus points out. "Legal in all 50 states and fourteen territories. It doesn't count as _drugs_." He looks mournfully down at Diego's foot.

"One," Diego counts on his fingers. "It'll give you cancer. Two, you have fucking _pneumonia_ , have you forgotten?"

Klaus's retort is lost in the screaming sirens of the two fire engines pulling up in front of the building.

After that, the residents all cluster closer together and the conversation gets more prosaic. A couple of firefighters stay on the sidewalk to corral the residents and reassure them, while the rest of them enter the building to presumably search for flames.

It's only about fifteen minutes before the all-clear comes. The grumbling neighbors all file back inside, and Vanya, Diego, Klaus, Ben and Dave re-enter Vanya's apartment.

It's a disaster area. It looks like a hurricane hit it.

"I'm kind of surprised the firefighters didn't ask us about this," Vanya says, looking around with a daunted expression.

"Well, nothing's burning," Klaus points out. "Not their problem if you decided to destructively redecorate."

"Maybe we should wait and deal with this in the morning," Diego suggests. "Vanya, do you think you'll be okay going back to sleep?"

Vanya considers the question for a moment before she nods. "I don't think I'll lose control like that again. I think it was ... the shock? But could you stay with me anyway, just in case?"

"Of course, Van," Diego says, and gives her a quick hug. "Whatever you need."

* * *

The next morning, they clean Vanya's apartment.

Lots of things are just misplaced. Other things are broken.

There's a fair bit of shattered glass. The physically-present siblings have to move carefully—they were lucky to have managed to avoid it all last night, making their way to the exit when the fire alarm went off.

Klaus isn't good at moving carefully, so he gets banished to the couch until Diego declares the whole area adequately swept. Dave does his part to keep Klaus safely on the couch by settling there with him and snuggling and kissing him.

"Awww," Vanya says, looking over at them. So Ben guesses that Dave has become visible again.

Vanya seems different, this morning. Even though she and Diego are occupied with sorting through the wreckage of most of her breakable belongings, there's an unfamiliar lightness to her.

As soon as Diego says that it's safe to move through the living room again, Vanya goes to her violin case, which is tucked in one corner. It doesn't look like it got caught up in last night's events, but she still looks anxious until she opens it.

"It's fine," she says with palpable relief. "Nothing else matters. The violin is safe."

"It must be really important to you," Diego says.

"Well, it's my livelihood," Vanya points out, carefully shutting the case. "And professional-quality musical instruments are fucking expensive."

"Really?" Klaus perks up.

"Oh my God, Klaus, don't even think about it," Ben snaps.

"What?" Klaus looks wounded. "Ben, that you would even _imply_ —"

"Jesus fucking Christ," Diego says. "Klaus, if you steal from Vanya I will fucking _hobble_ you."

Klaus swings his wide-eyed stare from Ben to Diego and back again. "How the fuck can you team up on me like that when Diego can't even _hear_ you?"

"We're both working from the same data," Ben says.

"You popped up like a prairie dog when Vanya mentioned how much her violin was worth, and Ben told you not to steal from your fucking sister," Diego says. "Right?"

Klaus sinks back on the couch cushions, looking cranky. "Diego, I wish you could've used this eerie ability to telepathically connect with Ben sometime in the past decade, instead of concluding I was crazy or an asshole or both whenever I mentioned him."

"I've apologized for that," Diego says. "Right?"

"Technically," Ben says, "no."

"Ben says no," Klaus reports triumphantly.

Diego pauses in his current activity of re-stacking books on Vanya's bookshelf. "Huh," he says. "Okay. I _am_ sorry. In retrospect—there were enough clues. I was being stubborn."

"Okay," Klaus says. "Apology accepted."

"So..." Diego looks at Klaus expectantly.

Klaus stares back, like an innocent baby bird.

"Klaus, I think Diego is expecting _you_ to apologize now," Ben suggests. "Maybe for all the times you stole from him?"

"OoooooOOOh." Klaus nods. "Diego, Ben says I should tell you I'm sorry for stealing from you."

Vanya, on her knees scooping dirt back into plant pots now, lets out a quick snort of laughter.

"What?" Klaus sends a baleful look in her direction.

She waves a hand in dismissive apology. "Never mind. Just the idea that you need Ben to tell you that."

"So, all those 'Ben says' things—all along, that really _was_ Ben," Diego muses.

" _Yes_ ," Klaus confirms, sounding a little cranky.

"Well, it's just—that was usually the basic survival shit. 'Ben says I need somewhere warm to sleep tonight.' 'Ben says I haven't eaten anything in three days.' Sorry, I'm just processing the fact that you were even _more_ of a mess than I realized."

"Ben and I had a perfectly functional distribution of responsibilities," Klaus says. "I was in charge of getting drugs, and he was in charge of everything else." And then, prompted by Ben's glare: "But that's the _old_ me! I'm going to be sober now. Look at me, sitting here, being sober."

Diego sighs, and shakes his head. Shoves another book on the shelf. "Well, hey. If you ever get around to the 'making amends' step, you owe me six hundred and seventeen dollars and forty-three cents. And a Linkin Park CD."

* * *

Eventually, everything has been picked up and either stuffed in trash bags or put away. They eat a late lunch. And just as they're finishing, there's a knock at the door.

Vanya looks puzzled, and a little wary. "I don't have visitors," she says.

"I gotcha," Diego says, and, drawing a knife, stands pressed against the wall next to the front entrance.

Vanya gives him a _really?_ look, and opens the door.

It's Allison.

Her eyes widen when she sees Vanya. "You're okay," she says, in the tone of someone who expected otherwise.

"Wow," Vanya says. "Allison. Um, come in?"

"Klaus?" Allison says in surprise, obviously spotting him as she comes in. And then, turning her head, " _Diego?!_ "

"Hey, Allison," Diego says fairly warmly, reaching out a hand. The knife is already out of sight.

Allison clasps Diego's hand and lets herself be drawn into a quick hug, but her eyes are still on Vanya. "Last night—" she says. "I tried to call back, but I think your phone was dead?"

"Oh?" Raising her eyebrows, Vanya goes over to the phone on the wall and picks up the receiver. Listens to it for a moment. "Okay, yeah," she says, hanging it up again. "I guess I'll have to ask the landlord to call the phone company for me."

"Before the line went dead," Allison persists, "I thought I heard an explosion."

Vanya shrugs. "Not exactly..."

"We did just spend the whole morning cleaning up the apartment from it, though!" says Klaus. Who didn't do any cleaning at all.

"What you asked me about—"

"Yeah," Vanya cuts her off. "I'd like to hear more about that."

Allison recoils a bit. She's probably never heard that tone in Vanya's voice before. But she leads with: "Vanya, I am _so_ sorry."

"You mind-controlled me." Vanya's voice has gone cold. "Allison, you fucking _rumored_ me? My entire life was a lie, and you _knew_?"

The windows start to vibrate.

"Uh oh," Diego says, looking around and wincing a little.

"Oooooh no," Klaus says, and scrambles over to where Vanya's standing. He wraps his arms around her and singsongs, "Vanyaya, you _just_ cleaned everything up. Remember, you were a little kid and so was she. Save your rage for Dad, the fucker who manipulated us all."

Amazingly, it works. Vanya softens into Klaus's arms, and the all-encompassing low tone stops humming.

"I am so sorry I never told you," Allison says. "I didn't know how to. I didn't even trust my memory that there was anything _to_ tell. It was such a strange memory—and Dad kept saying that we'd always known you never had a power, so it had to be true, right?"

"Okay," Vanya says, still tucked into Klaus's arms. "I can ... kind of accept that. Listen, I stopped taking my pills and I'm a little reactive. Things are happening in my head that I've never experienced before."

"Ooooohhh yeah, I can relate," Klaus murmurs, and pets Vanya's hair.

"Your pills?" Allison asks.

"Her supposed anti-anxiety meds," Klaus clarifies. "We realized they were actually blocking her power."

"We realized this when Klaus took some and they blocked _his_ power," Diego clarifies.

Klaus nods, wide-eyed. "I couldn't see Ben."

"Mm," Allison says, her gaze sliding past Klaus in an okay-that's-happening-again kind of way, and back to Diego, who she's clearly fixed on as the currently most stable sibling. "I didn't even know you were all still in touch with each other."

"We weren't," Diego says. "It's kind of a long story. But also, Klaus isn't messing with you. Ben is here. You can talk to him. He can talk to _you_."

* * *

They set up the typewriter on the coffee table.

Allison looks wary and skeptical right up until Ben starts typing, and then within a couple of sentences she's weeping.

They go over the territory that Ben's already covered with Vanya and Diego, and really it's gratifying to Ben that each of his siblings has the same first questions: He's okay, he's not in pain.

He tells Allison that he's missed her, and that he and Klaus have seen every one of her movies. He congratulates her on the birth of her daughter, and tells her that he would love to meet her.

 **Is she here with you?** he thinks to ask.

Allison shakes her head, and swipes her tears away with the back of her hand. "No. I left her with Patrick. I'm only here for the afternoon—I'm filming tomorrow. I just ... I needed to see that Vanya was okay." She sniffles again. "Maybe you could come out to L.A. to visit us?"

"Yes!" Klaus says immediately, sounding delighted. He's sitting next to Ben, of course, on the opposite side from Allison. "That would be _awesome_!"

Ben looks at Allison in time to catch her little wince, the stiffening of her posture. It's pretty clear that in her excitement to talk to Ben, she momentarily forgot that Ben and Klaus are an indivisible set.

And, okay, they went through _this_ yesterday with Vanya and Diego. Ben thinks fast, trying to compose a reply that will make the situation clear to Allison while not hurting Klaus more than necessary. **I would love to visit you and your family someday, Allison,** he types. **It might be a while before Klaus is ready to travel, though. He's sober now but it's pretty recent and we're taking one day at a time. He's still learning how to deal with his power, and the ghosts.**

Allison turns to Klaus. (Ben leans back, so that she's not looking at Klaus _through_ him.) "You're _sober_? Klaus, that's wonderful! How long has it been?"

 **Nine days,** Ben types, providing the most generous possible figure—counting from Klaus's last dose of opioids, and ignoring the slightly more recent alcohol, and the _much_ more recent theft of Vanya's pills.

"Ah," Allison says, slightly less enthusiastically. "Well, that's a start, right? What was it that made you decide to go clean?"

"He got really sick," Diego says, from where he's been standing behind the couch. "And then I handcuffed him to a pipe so he couldn't run away and get high again."

Klaus sighs in acknowledgment. " _Decide_ is a strong word," he says. "Diego and Ben restrained me in various ways, and before I knew it, whooops, I'd detoxed. But actually I _am_ into it now. I've decided to say no to drugs and embrace my power. I have a ghost boyfriend now!"

Allison blinks. "You _what_?"

Explaining Dave takes a while. Klaus takes the lead, but he's not really good at forming coherent narratives, so Ben, Vanya and Diego all keep jumping in.

At the end of it, Klaus gets up and stands in front of the fireplace, and holds his hands out to either side. "Dave, Ben?" he says. "C'mere. I think you should both give Allison a wave."

"Hm?" Allison says from the couch, looking puzzled.

"Oh, _I_ know what he's doing," Diego says. "Klaus, be careful. Don't fall and crack your head on the fireplace, okay?"

"It'll be okay," Klaus says. "Allison: stay over there. No hugs. Sorry, I just don't really want a nosebleed right now."

Ben, meanwhile, has joined Klaus, and slipped his right hand into Klaus's left. Already, the contact is solid.

Dave shrugs, looking a little bemused, and takes Klaus's other hand. "I can't believe I'm meeting a _movie star_ ," he says.

"Aw, don't think of her as a movie star," Klaus says. "Think of her as my sister who wears fuzzy bunny slippers at bedtime." He looks to Allison. "Do you still have those?"

Allison laughs. "Patrick buys me a new pair for my birthday every year. I can't believe you remembered that."

And then she gasps.

Klaus has closed his eyes, and Ben feels that subtle difference in his substance that means he's become visible.

Ben smiles at Allison, and is rewarded with Allison staring straight at him, new tears welling up in her eyes even as she smiles broadly in return.

On the other side of Klaus, Dave does give a polite wave and a smile of his own. "Hi, Allison," he says. "Nice to meet you."

"Dave says hi, nice to meet you," Klaus repeats without opening his eyes.

"It's good to see you too, Dave," Allison says. "I look forward to getting to know you." And then she turns back to Ben and gazes at him, grinning through her tears. "Ben," she breathes. "I can't believe it."

"I know, right?" Diego murmurs from behind the couch.

"We have to tell Luther," Allison says.

"How?" Vanya asks. "He's on the moon. I don't think he has a phone."

"If we tell Dad—"

"No!" Diego, Klaus and Vanya all yelp, more or less simultaneously. And Klaus drops Ben's hand, and also Dave's on the other side.

"I don't want Dad to know about _any_ of this," Vanya says. "Not until I really figure out what's going on with my power."

Klaus has just started coughing. It's the first really bad coughing fit he's had since Allison arrived, and she looks alarmed.

Diego goes straight over to Klaus and puts a stabilizing arm around him, and guides him back over to the couch.

"Oh my God, Klaus, you sound terrible," Allison says.

"Nah, it's okay, he's getting better," Diego reassures her. "You should've heard him a few days ago."

"Allison, you have to promise," Vanya says urgently. "Don't talk to Dad."

"I won't tell him about you," Allison says. "I swear. But we've _got_ to let Luther know that Ben isn't really gone. He's always felt responsible for Ben's death. There's been something broken inside of him ever since that day."

Now that Klaus is back on the couch, Ben can access the typewriter again. **It WASN'T Luther's fault that I died,** he types. **It wasn't anybody's fault. Dad was an asshole for saying that it was.**

"Okay, listen," Diego says. "I know it's rough, but—it's been nine years. Another few weeks won't make that much difference, right? Let's give Vanya and Klaus time to figure out their powers. And _then_ —a message for Dad to pass on to Luther, just about how Klaus is sober and Ben's with him." He looks at Klaus and Vanya. "Do you think that's okay?"

"As long as I don't have to go anywhere near the old bastard," Klaus says.

"Sure," Vanya agrees. "I guess that's fine."

* * *

After that, Allison and Vanya go back to the bedroom together, to talk privately. Ben _could_ easily spy on them, but he doesn't.

They emerge nearly two hours later, and when they do, they're both smiling and visibly easy with each other. Ben is very glad to see it.

"So, I have to head back to the airport," Allison says. "My flight is at six thirty."

"I can't believe you flew all the way out here for a three-hour visit," Vanya says, giving her a quick one-armed hug.

"Of course I did," Allison says. "After that call last night?"

"It was good to see you, Allison," Diego says. "I wish you could've stayed longer."

" _Next_ time," Allison says, "we'll plan a few days together. And I'll introduce you to Patrick and Claire. God, why didn't we ever do that before?"

"We were all running from the past," Vanya says. "In different directions."

Before Allison goes out the door, Vanya and Diego and Klaus cluster around her and give her a collective hug. Ben hovers on the edges of it, just enjoying seeing them all together.

"Oh my God," Allison says, getting teary again. "I didn't know how much I missed you guys. I'll stay in touch this time, I promise. It'll be the middle of the night here when I touch down in L.A., but I'll call tomorrow and check in, okay?"

"I'd like that," Vanya says softly. "Talk to you tomorrow, Allison."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is how you prevent an apocalypse. Wasn't that easy?


	16. Chapter 16

The next day, they drive out to the woods.

It's Diego's idea. "Better not to be around anything breakable when you let loose again," he suggests.

"Not that there's anything breakable left in my apartment," Vanya comments wryly.

Diego shrugs. "Well, your neighbors will appreciate it if we don't set off the fire alarm again."

Vanya doesn't have a car, so they take Diego's. Vanya rides in the front passenger seat and Klaus takes the middle of the back, between Dave and Ben. On the way out they chat about the weather (overcast and chilly), the traffic (snarled; the highway entrance Diego wanted to take is under construction), and Allison's visit.

"Her clothes are so pretty," Klaus sighs. "Diego, Vanya? I'm sorry, but your wardrobes are sub-standard."

"If you get some clothes of your _own_ , you can wear whatever you want," Diego says. "Until then, you take what you can get."

Klaus is currently wearing another pair of Diego's sweatpants—the elastic waist is just barely snug enough to cling to his hips—and a grey hoodie with the boxing club's logo. Over it all he's got his pink and purple coat, of course, and also a brown wool hat of Vanya's and a pair of black nylon gloves from Diego. Klaus is not happy with his look, but Diego insisted that Klaus needed to be warm.

There had been a brief debate about whether to bring Klaus along at all. From a strict recovery-from-illness point of view, it probably would have been better to leave him resting at home. But Klaus didn't want to be left behind, and Diego didn't love the idea of leaving him with only incorporeal ghosts looking out for him, so here they were.

Diego eventually turns off the highway, down a series of side roads, and eventually along a _dirt_ road.

"If you're bringing us out here to kill us where nobody will ever find our bodies," Klaus says with a leery look out the window, "well done. Good location choice."

"I figure we want to be out of earshot of any houses," Diego says, stopping the car. "In case Vanya's power makes that noise again."

They get out of the car. Dried leaves crunch under the feet of the living siblings. There's the sound of a crow calling in the distance; otherwise, silence.

"Let's get some distance from my car," Diego says. "Just in case."

So they trudge along the dirt road. Klaus starts coughing, and Diego shoots him a worried look and moves over to give him a shoulder to lean on as they walk.

They didn't bring the oxygen with them; Klaus didn't even use it last night. Generally speaking, he's doing a lot better. Ben confirmed this first-hand this morning, when after a bit of careful negotiation he agreed to possess Klaus during breakfast. Vanya had made boiled eggs and toast; Ben likes boiled eggs, and Klaus doesn't. Ben decided that taking over Klaus's body and eating the eggs for him wouldn't be _too_ much of a dangerous step on the road to total co-dependency. And it was wonderful to have a leisurely half hour of chatting with Vanya and Diego.

Anyway. Ben had been inside Klaus's body, so he knew that breathing was getting much easier.

Still. Moving around a small apartment was one thing; walking half a mile down a dirt road in the wilderness was another.

"Maybe this is far enough?" Vanya suggests after a while. "I don't think I could hurt your car from _here_."

"Actually let's keep going," Klaus says in a tight voice.

Ben follows the direction of Klaus's gaze, and sees someone standing between the trees.

"Huh? Why?" Diego asks.

"It's a little crowded," Klaus says, and with a whimper, presses his face against Diego's shoulder.

"Ghosts?" Diego guesses, and looks around as though he might be able to see anything. "Out _here_?"

More figures are coming into focus, scattered among the trees to the west of the road. They're all dressed in the style of indigenous people in old historical pictures—no modern fabrics or accessories. They range in age from little kids to gray-haired women and men. A lot of them have lesions on their faces, and on the visible skin on their arms and hands. They're all silently watching Klaus, Diego and Vanya's progress.

They can't see each other, Ben reminds himself. Each of them thinks that they're alone. "There must have been a village around here," he guesses. "And they died ... of smallpox?"

"People lived here, Diego," Klaus says into Diego's shoulder. "For twenty thousand years."

"Ooooh," Diego says. "Damn. Sorry, I didn't think—"

"Maybe let's go a little farther, then?" Vanya suggests.

They walk on. Klaus is pale, and clinging to Diego's arm pretty tightly. All of the ghosts just stay in their places and watch them go....

With one exception.

A little girl comes out onto the road and starts trailing after them. She looks about six or seven.

Klaus isn't looking back, so he doesn't see her. Dave does, following Ben's glance. He looks a question at Ben, like: _What should we do?_

Ben shrugs. Maybe she'll stop following them before Klaus turns around and sees her. If she doesn't, they'll cope with it when they have to.

After another five minutes' walking, Diego asks, "Is it okay to stop now?"

Klaus looks around, and he sees the little girl. "Oh," he says. "One of them followed us." His voice wavers a little, but he's not panicking.

"She's just a little kid," Ben says, hoping that's a reassuring point. "I think she's curious about us."

Of course, she must be hundreds of years old. But Ben's overall impression is that ghosts don't really grow or change, once they die.

Unless they've had contact with Klaus. (See: Ben. And also Dave.)

"I don't think we should go any further from the car," Diego says. "Do you want to go back?"

"Klaus, let her see us," Dave suggests. "I'm good with kids. I'll keep her busy while Vanya does her thing."

"Ummm, Dave is volunteering to babysit," Klaus says.

"Babysit?" Diego repeats, sounding puzzled.

"The ghost is a child?" Vanya guesses.

The little girl steps closer to Klaus. She seems to have noticed that he's looking directly at her now. She says something.

"What is that, Iroquois?" Klaus says. "I'm sorry. I don't speak it. It wasn't one of Dad's priorities." His voice has gone a little soft and sing-song—there's still a desperation to it, but he's clearly responding to the fact that he's talking to a child.

The girl says something else, looking at him quizzically.

"Let her see me," Dave repeats.

"Okay, okay," Klaus says. "I'll try it." He breathes out slowly.

The girl turns to Ben and then Dave, looking startled. She says something, and backs up a few steps.

"Okay, now _she's_ seeing ghosts," Ben murmurs. "Hope we don't freak _her_ out."

"Klaus, are you cold?" Diego asks, sounding concerned. "I _knew_ I should've made you wear another sweater."

Ben sees that Klaus is shaking—that's why Diego asked that. But Ben is pretty sure that Klaus is just really scared.

"Hey, nice to meet you," Dave says to the little girl ghost. "How about you come over here and we hang out for a bit?" He beckons, walking into the woods away from Klaus and the others for a few feet, and then he sits down on the leafy loam.

The girl gives Klaus one more curious look, but then follows Dave. She sits down facing him, and hugs her leather-clad knees.

"Okay, let's try this," Dave suggests, and starts making patty-cake claps with his hands. He repeats the pattern a couple of times, pausing after each set with his hands out in front, waiting for her to respond.

The girl frowns, says something sharp, and then makes a different, much more complicated set of gestures that seem to have the same general purpose, and looks at him expectantly.

"Ha, sure, I'll try it your way," Dave says. "Show me again?" And he does his best to do what the girl just did, raising his eyebrows in query.

Watching carefully, Ben sees that Dave and the little girl can't really touch each other; when they would pat hands, they're just miming it. That makes sense; providing solidity takes a whole extra level of power.

"Okay, Dave's handling her," Ben says to Klaus. Klaus isn't looking; he's hiding his face against Diego's shoulder again. "Klaus, it's okay. She's not going to come at you."

Klaus looks up. "Ummmm, all right," he says. "Vanya, you can do your thing now."

Vanya looks daunted. "What exactly do I _do_?"

"You must have felt it," Diego suggests. "When you were making all the stuff fly around in your apartment?"

"I wasn't doing that on purpose," Vanya says.

"Hey hey hey, maybe I can help," Klaus says. "I've been doing a whole lot of new things with _my_ powers this week." Shooting one more leery look over at the little girl ghost—who's sternly correcting all of Dave's many mistakes in the hand-clapping game—he goes over to Vanya and stands behind her. He runs his hands along her arms, encouraging her to hold them out like she's grasping a large ball in front of herself. "Okay," he says. "You felt _something_ when you used your power. But you weren't feeling it with, like, your regular nerves? It's like you're holding your breath, except it's a metaphor-breath. You need to clench your fists without closing your hands."

Klaus's instructions _sound_ incoherent, but when Ben thinks back to using his own power, when he was alive, he can see where Klaus is coming from.

There aren't really words for it.

Vanya clenches her actual fists. And a blue-white ghost-light starts glowing between her fingers.

"Great, something's happening," Diego says, taking several steps backwards away from Vanya.

Vanya pulls her fists together, closing the circle of her arms.

WHUMP.

Ben doesn't _feel_ anything, but he both hears and sees the shock wave. More specifically, what he sees is every tree in sight crashing down away from them, and Diego flying through the air.

Klaus, who was standing right behind Vanya and touching her, snaps his hands to his ears but doesn't get thrown.

Dave and the little girl ghost look up in surprise from where they're now sitting in the middle of a fallen tree.

Vanya drops her hands and looks around in shock. Then she calls out "Diego!" in a panicky tone, and runs to where he's fallen.

Klaus stumbles along after her, tripping over branches.

Diego is on the ground and groaning.

Vanya crouches down next to him. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Diego are you okay?!"

Diego sits up. Vanya nearly goes limp with evident relief.

"What the _fuck_ was that?" Diego says.

"Hey, I think I know why Dad blocked Vanya's power," Klaus says, getting to them. "Can you imagine if she did that _indoors_?"

Ben looks around. Where Vanya had been standing is now the center of a circle of fallen trees, with a 50-yard radius. After 50 yards there's a transition where the trees aren't _fully_ knocked down, but are cracked and leaning against other, further-out trees.

Vanya gazes around too, looking fairly stunned. "I barely felt like I did _anything_ ," she says.

Diego is checking each of his joints in turn. Apparently satisfied with the results, he stands up. "Okay, Van. Here's the plan. Let's see if you can close the throttle a bit, and knock down just _one_ tree. And this time, I'm standing with Klaus, right behind you."

* * *

They spend another hour in the woods. Vanya manages to work her way down from knocking down swaths of trees, to knocking down individual trees, to eventually just knocking chosen branches off of trees. She looks pretty pleased with herself.

Tramping around over all the fallen trunks and branches warms Vanya and Diego up to the point where they decide to take their coats off—and exhausts Klaus, so he needs to sit down. Vanya gives him her coat to sit on, and Diego drapes his over Klaus's shoulders as an extra layer. Dave is still busy keeping the little girl ghost occupied, so Ben sits with Klaus.

"Isn't it nice to be out in nature?" Ben says. "I wish I could smell it."

"You want to?" Klaus offers. "I could use a break, anyway."

"You mean, possess you again?" Ben shakes his head. "That wouldn't make you _less_ tired. Your body would still be the thing holding us up. And remember, it always kind of knocks you out when I _stop_ possessing you. Diego might have to carry you out of the woods, if we did that."

Klaus shrugs. "True."

"Also..." Ben glances around. They seem to be alone in the woods, other than Dave and the little girl off in the distance, and Vanya and Diego of course. "I'm not so sure that we should do that where other ghosts can see us."

"Other ghosts can't see you," Klaus points out.

"But they can see _you_. I don't know if they'd be able to tell what's happening, but ... just in case?"

"Great, thanks for the nightmare fuel," Klaus says, shuddering.

"That's why I want to be _careful_ ," Ben insists.

Klaus is quiet for a moment. They watch Vanya knock an empty squirrel nest out of the crown of a tree without even snapping any branches. And then he moans quietly, "I want druuuuuuuuugs."

"Are you feeling the withdrawal again?" Ben asks, shifting closer to him and giving him a worried look. It's been over a week, but the symptoms could still come and go. Ben's never seen _Klaus_ stay clean for this long, but the times that Klaus has gone to rehab, Ben's had the chance to see _other_ people legitimately go through the whole process.

But Klaus says, "Not really. Still feeling crappy, but—I guess I'm just sick. And tired. And cold. And in the fucking woods. And you know what would fix all that? Drugs."

"Drugs would not fix _any_ of that," Ben points out. Because he's pretty sure that's why Klaus is voicing these feelings: he needs Ben to counter them.

"Sure, sure, I know," Klaus sighs. "Can I lean against you?"

"If you make me solid," Ben says, and scootches right next to Klaus, on the fallen log he's sitting on.

Klaus sinks against Ben, and Ben puts an arm around him. As usual when Klaus has made it so that they can touch each other, Ben can feel Klaus and his clothing in full detail, including the damp chill of the wool. "You should tell Vanya and Diego that you need to go home," Ben says.

"Mmm, let them finish up." Klaus closes his eyes.

"Klaus, _don't_ go to sleep," Ben says. "The moment you do, you'll fall right through me and end up on the ground."

"Ugh, that's inconvenient," Klaus murmurs.

"Okay, that's it. Up." Ben starts poking Klaus—in the arm, and, when that doesn't have enough effect, in the face. "Get up and tell Diego and Vanya that you need to go home."

"Seriously, I give you the power to touch me and _this_ is how you use it?" Klaus moans, batting Ben's hand away. And apparently not remembering that he could just make Ben insubstantial again. "Okay, help me up," he says.

Ben helps Klaus to his feet, and gives him a steadying hand over to where Diego and Vanya are.

"Hey," Klaus greets them. "How's the tree-torture going?"

Vanya grins, and pushes some sweaty strands of hair back from her forehead. "I'm really getting the hang of this!"

"Great, great," Klaus says. "So, anyway ... Ben says I'm tired and I need to go home."

Ben face-palms. "You don't need to phrase it like that."

"He does, huh?" Diego says. He gives Klaus an assessing look. "Yeah, you look done in. What do you think, Vanya? Ready to head back?"

Vanya looks around at the devastation she has wrought. "Sure," she says. "I guess I'm done here."

* * *

They walk back slowly along the dirt road. The little girl ghost sticks with Dave, so Dave keeps some distance from the others. Klaus gets slung between Diego and Ben, because otherwise he's barely keeping to his feet.

About halfway to the car, they hit the place with the other ghosts. The little girl gives a happy-sounding yelp, lets go of Dave's hand, and runs to the ghost of a woman. The girl looks up at the woman and says something. She waits, and getting no response, says something else, her face falling. And then she circles the woman, looking increasingly distressed.

"Oh no," Dave says quietly, coming abreast of Klaus, Ben and Diego. "She sees them now. But they can't see her."

"Stop," Klaus says. "Stop stop stop stop stop."

"What's happening?" Diego asks.

"I need to do something," Klaus says. He's not telling Diego—he's asking Dave. "Right?"

"I think so," Dave says, looking over at the ghosts in the trees. The little girl is crying now, and waving her hands through the adult figure.

"Oh, _fuck_ ," Klaus says. "Diego, I need to sit down."

"Now? Here? In the dirt?"

" _Yes!_ "

All the ghosts are watching Klaus. Except for the girl, who's wailing.

"Klaus, are you dizzy?" Vanya asks, sounding worried.

"No, no, it's not that, it's the ghosts," Klaus says. He presses his hands to his face. "I got involved. I can't just leave it like this. Ben, Dave, what can I _do_?"

"Can you let them all see each other?" Dave asks.

"I could do that, but it'll only work until I leave. And we can't tell them what's going on! I bet none of them speak English!"

"I think you should do it," Dave says. "At least they'll each know that the others are there. And the little girl will be able to talk to her mother."

" _What's_ going on?" Diego asks.

"We should've brought the typewriter," Vanya murmurs.

Sitting on the ground, Klaus huddles with his knees up to his ears. "I have to do a thing for some ghosts," he says. He stretches his hands out. After a moment, they flash with a blue glow.

A murmur of shock and surprise passes among the ghosts. All of a sudden they're looking at each other. Some of them are moving toward other individuals, calling out.

Klaus's hands keep glowing.

"What are you doing?" Diego asks in alarm.

"Facilitating a giant ghost reunion," Klaus says. His voice sounds strained. "Don't make me talk. This is kind of a lot."

The ghosts are circulating, checking on each other and exclaiming. Of course Ben can't tell what any of them are saying. But then he notices the little girl incoming, leading the woman—her mother?—that she'd first been drawn to.

The little girl leads the woman up to Dave, and says something. The woman says something to Dave.

"Um, hi," Dave says to the woman. "Nice to meet you? Your daughter is very sweet."

They're all standing pretty close to Klaus. Dave glances in Klaus's direction, and the woman follows his gaze.

Klaus sees this, and flinches. But he doesn't stop doing what he's doing.

The woman says something to Dave.

"Sorry, no idea what you're saying," Dave shrugs. "But yeah, if you're wondering, he's the one making this possible. And it's really hard for him."

Ben notices that Klaus's hands are starting to tremble. And—uh oh. There's a trickle of blood starting from his nose.

The woman crouches closer to Klaus, frowning. He lets out a whimper.

The girl says something to the woman. The woman stands up again and walks briskly back toward the others, beckoning to the girl.

"Klaus, I think you need to stop—" Ben starts to say.

"Wait!" Dave interrupts him. "Look!"

At the center of the group of ghosts, one of the figures dissolves into streamers of blue-white light.

The other ghosts around that first one don't look alarmed. Some are crying, but the way people do when they're terribly relieved. And then another one dissolves into streamers.

"They're going into the light," Dave says, sounding like he's seeing something almost unbearably beautiful.

Ben is sure that Dave is right about what's happening. He can _feel_ it, with that same inexplicable sense that tells him when somebody _is_ a ghost—the same sense that lets him feel the light, and Klaus, always pulling him in opposite directions.

Unlike Dave, Ben doesn't think that the light is heaven. He thinks that it's nothingness. But still, he can believe that it would be a relief to find your family and go into it together, after standing alone in a patch of forest for hundreds of years.

He sits down next to Klaus, and puts a hand on his knee. And then, while Vanya and Diego watch Klaus in worried puzzlement, Dave, Klaus and Ben watch each of the figures in turn dissolve into the light.


	17. Chapter 17

The next day, Vanya and Diego have to go back to work.

Vanya has a full afternoon of teaching ahead of her, and then her ensemble has a performance scheduled at a private function in the evening. Diego's work consists of a few hours of cleaning the gym.

"I can be gone and back in three hours," Diego says, pacing anxiously.

"That's fine," Vanya says. "Right, Klaus? Ben?"

Klaus and Ben are on the couch, and the typewriter's on the coffee table again.

Ben knows why Diego's worried. Ben is worried too.

The last time Vanya left Klaus alone, he tried to go out and score drugs, and Ben stopped him by unilaterally possessing him and locking him up. Now Ben's promised not to _do_ that anymore. Frankly, if Klaus did make the same move, Ben would probably stop him the same way. But it would destroy their trust. **Can Klaus go to the gym with Diego?** he types.

Klaus is trying to stay sober now. He is. But it just seems like it's a whole lot easier with Diego around.

Diego frowns. "If I bring you," he says to Klaus, "can you _try_ not to get me in trouble with Al?"

"Who's Al?" Klaus asks.

"My boss. The gym owner. You—oh, I guess you might not remember meeting him before. You were pretty sick."

"There's a _lot_ I don't remember," Klaus agrees. "Generally speaking. Okay, I'll try to be good. What will that entail, exactly?"

"Don't talk about drugs," Diego says. "Or sex. Or using sex to pay for drugs."

"Don't say anything about my life," Klaus intones, raising his eyebrows. "Got it."

Diego winces. "That's not ... never mind. Sure. And if he asks: you're not staying with me. You have never stayed with me. You wouldn't even dream of staying with me."

* * *

"Diego!" says the grizzled, cranky man at the desk as soon as they walk in. "Where the hell have you been?"

"I told you I was going to be away for a couple of days," Diego says. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Al says, crossing his arms. "Your brother's feeling better?"

"So much better!" Klaus says with a beaming smile. He presses his hands in front of his chest in a namaste gesture, and gives a little bow.

Al's eyes widen, but he apparently really doesn't know how to respond to Klaus; he just turns back to Diego and says in an irritated tone, "The green heavy bag's busted again. Get it taped and back up before you mop."

Meanwhile, Ben's gaze drifts over the gym and catches on the boxing ring.

He'd forgotten about the boxer ghost—a metaphorical landmine waiting for Klaus in Diego's living space. Only, for better or for worse, the ghost isn't in there right now; he's out here.

He's alone in the ring, ducking and weaving and shadow-boxing.

Dave looks over at the ring too, and then shifts like he's about to say something. Ben waves him a quick, frantic cut-off gesture. _Klaus_ hasn't noticed the ghost, and if they're lucky, he won't.

Dave hesitates for a moment, and then apparently understands what Ben's trying to tell him; he nods, and bumps affectionately against Klaus, pulling his attention in the opposite direction from the ring.

"Okay," Diego says to his landlord/boss, who's just given him a few more instructions in the meantime. "Thank you, sir. I'll get all that done." And he starts leading Klaus toward the back room.

"He can't stay here!" Al reminds Diego.

"No sir!" Diego says earnestly. "He's just going to wait for me while I do the mopping."

* * *

"Aaah, pipe," Klaus says, running a hand up and down the vertical pipe that Diego had handcuffed him to when he was here before. "My old friend. So many memories."

"I'm surprised you remember being here at all," Diego says, wrinkling his nose. "Anyway, while I'm out front, you wanna go through all my clothes and see if there's anything that will fit you better? You need to change again, anyway—you've been wearing that stuff since yesterday."

So Diego leaves Klaus to his own devices. And Klaus starts pulling everything out of Diego's dresser.

"Klaus, don't just throw it all on the floor," Ben says.

"Shush," Klaus says. "Diego told me to do this." He holds up a thin, ragged black t-shirt with an AC/DC logo on it. "Oh, this _almost_ works."

Ben shrugs. "You could wear that, sure."

"Almost, I said." Klaus takes the t-shirt and heads into what passes for a little kitchen area, with the bar fridge and the hot plate. There's a jar with some pencils and sharpie markers and a pair of scissors. Klaus takes the scissors and starts cutting the sleeves off the T-shirt, humming to himself.

"Seriously, Klaus?" Ben groans.

"What? It was at the bottom of the drawer. I don't think he wears it anymore." Klaus finishes his work, and then shrugs off the bulky sweatshirt he's currently wearing and slips on the now-sleeveless T instead. In the moment that his torso is bare in between, Ben notes that the bruises are healing up; they're mostly yellow now. So that's progress.

Then Klaus takes a black sharpie from the scissors jar, and starts coloring in his nails.

Ben rolls his eyes. "Really? Klaus, what are you, an emo thirteen-year-old?"

But Dave is watching with a little quirked smile. "I think it's hot," he comments.

Klaus grins, and keeps at it.

* * *

By the time Diego comes back, Klaus is dressed in the modified t-shirt—which he took off again at one point and raggedly cropped, so now his belly button is exposed—and a pair of black cargo pants, cinched tight at the waist with a belt. He's barefoot, and he's colored in all of his nails, on his hands and feet. He's throwing knives at the cork target board that's set up against one wall, and mostly missing.

Diego draws up behind him, and sighs. "You couldn't have put _anything_ back in the drawers?"

"I don't know what your system is," Klaus says, and lifts his hand to throw a knife.

"Hey, no," Diego says—but he's not stopping Klaus, he's just correcting his grip. "Like this." He adjusts Klaus's hand, and then, holding the back of it, guides Klaus through the throw.

Klaus watches the knife sail sharply end-over-end and lodge its tip in the bullseye. "You cheated for me, didn't you?"

"Yep," Diego confirms with a grin. "C'mon. Back to Vanya's place." He looks down. "But for the love of God, at least put on _socks_."

* * *

That night, they all settle down in bed together. Again.

"How come Klaus gets half the bed to himself?" Diego asks in a mildly cranky tone, tucking his arms in close so that he doesn't elbow Vanya.

"He doesn't," Vanya reminds him. "Dave's next to him."

"So he _says_ ," Diego grumbles.

"Oh, you want proof?" Klaus grins. "I'll give you proof. C'mere, sweetbuns."

"Sweetbuns?" Dave repeats, looking skeptical. But he totally willingly snuggles up to Klaus and accepts the kisses Klaus offers.

The increasingly hot and heavy kisses.

"All right all right I take it back!" Diego says, going up on one elbow. "Dave is totally there. Jesus, take it down a notch."

Klaus seems willing to ignore Diego, but Dave plants a hand on Klaus's chest and enforces some space. "We don't want to get kicked _off_ your sister's bed," he says. "Her couch is tiny."

* * *

Later, when the living siblings are asleep, Ben reads Dave a couple more chapters of the Dune book. And then Dave says, "Hey, about that ghost at the boxing club. Maybe we should come up with a plan for how to handle him, if Diego brings us back there?"

"Good point," Ben admits. "We should ask Klaus if he's ready to try not seeing ghosts again, tomorrow." They still haven't revisited that particular exploration of Klaus's power, since it went so badly the first time.

Dave looks thoughtful. "Is there any chance the ghost will just go away on his own?"

"It doesn't seem _especially_ likely," Ben says. "He looks like he's been there for years."

"What makes some ghosts stick around, anyway?" Dave asks. "Instead of going into the light? I mean, obviously _we_ both stuck around for Klaus. But what about the others?"

"Huh. I've never really thought about it," Ben admits, momentarily stunned that he never _has_ asked such a basic question about the reality he inhabits.

But then, he's never really had somebody else to talk about it with, before.

"Well, have you noticed any patterns?" Dave asks. "Like, those people in the forest seemed to just be waiting to find each other."

Ben shrugs. "Honestly, I don't even have a lot of reference points. Normally, as soon as ghosts start appearing, Klaus takes his next hit of whatever he's got on him and sends them away."

"And that makes them disappear for you, too." Dave looks thoughtful. "Because you're seeing them via his power?"

"Right." Ben takes a moment, trying to run a mental survey of all the ghosts he _has_ seen, over the years. "I think it's trauma," he realizes. "The common denominator. I can't remember ever seeing a ghost who looked like they'd died of old age, happy and peaceful in their bed."

"Damn, that's sad," Dave says. "Explains why there were so many more in Vietnam than there seem to be here, though."

"You couldn't see them in Vietnam, though, right?"

Dave shakes his head. "I'm just going off what Klaus said."

"So, you really believed him about the ghosts?" Ben is curious about this. "Most people don't."

"I didn't at first," Dave admits. "I thought it was a metaphor. And then after a while I realized it wasn't a metaphor, and I thought he was bona fide crazy."

Ben raises an eyebrow. "That didn't bother him?"

Dave winces. "I pretended I believed him. It seemed like the kindest way to approach it? It's not like he was the only guy in Vietnam seeing things that weren't there. And I didn't _mind_ that he was crazy. I already liked him a lot, by then."

"So ... did you only realize it was all real after you died?"

Dave shakes his head. "No. Long before then. Klaus knew things he couldn't possibly know. Eventually, him really seeing ghosts was the only explanation that fit all the facts." He laughs a little. "And I _did_ see him appear out of thin air in my tent, even if I spent the first two months convincing myself that it couldn't possibly have happened the way I was remembering it. So—ghosts don't seem so unlikely, after that."

"I always knew that Klaus saw ghosts," Ben says. "I didn't learn that most people _don't_ believe in ghosts until I was a teenager."

"Well, you grew up with superpowers," Dave points out. "You must have an entirely different sense of what's possible and impossible than most people do."

"True," Ben concedes. To his brother's ghost boyfriend from another timeline, who is rapidly becoming Ben's best friend.

He looks down at the book in his hands. "Want me to read another chapter?"

Dave smiles. "That'd be nice."

* * *

The next morning is a little rough. Klaus started having nightmares about two in the morning—not long after Ben and Dave's conversation about ghosts—and nobody got much sleep after that.

This has been pretty standard; Klaus seems to be going through a bad patch, dream-wise. The only recent night when he _hasn't_ woken his siblings up was the night Vanya's powers came in and she blew up her apartment.

"We should talk about this," Vanya says at their mid-morning breakfast, over the brim of her coffee mug. (Yesterday she refitted her kitchen with unbreakable plastic mugs, cups, plates and bowls; they're all from Goodwill, and mismatched, but they get the job done.) "About our sleeping arrangements."

"Sleeping?" Diego yawns. "Is that what you call it?"

"I don't feel like I'm in danger of losing control at night again," Vanya says. Ben thinks she's probably right; there hasn't been any hint of a repeat of that first incident.

"Do you want us gone?" Diego asks, looking worried. "Remember I can't bring Klaus back to my place. I'm not going to be able to hide him from Al now that he's checking on me all the time."

"No!" Vanya says quickly. "That's not where I was going with that. I was just thinking—maybe it would make sense for us to start taking turns on the couch." She's looking at Diego, and only at Diego, when she says it.

Klaus doesn't seem to notice; he's tearing an old take-out menu into confetti-sized pieces, and he appears to be pretty engaged in it.

"Oh," Diego says. "Sure. Actually—want me to bring in my cot from the gym? I think it'd fit in front of the fireplace. It's a lot more comfortable to sleep on than your stubby little couch is."

"That would be great," Vanya says, looking relieved.

And that's all they say about that. But Ben is impressed, and touched. Without making any kind of big deal about it, Vanya and Diego have apparently committed to making sure that Klaus doesn't have to sleep alone.

* * *

Later, the idea of Klaus working on shutting down his power is revisited.

"Oh hey!" Vanya says. "I feel like maybe I can help with this now. That's practically all I've been _doing_ with my power—figuring out how to bring out _less_ of it."

"Oh, I had an idea too!" Diego says. He goes over to Vanya's bookshelf and extracts a wooden box, which turns out to be a folded-up chess set. "Klaus, I've noticed you don't freak out about stuff as much if you're distracted. So I thought—maybe, if you play a game while you're trying the power thing, it'll help you."

Klaus looks a little daunted. "I'm terrible at chess, Diego."

"So am I," Diego admits cheerfully. "So we can play each other. Ben and Vanya can have a real game later, if they want."

Ben smiles at Vanya—which she can't see—and then at the typewriter. **I'd like that.**

Vanya shoots the typewriter an unexpectedly feral grin. "Bring it on, ghost-boy."

**You're very different, off your meds,** Ben observes.

Vanya laughs out loud. "I should hope so!"

* * *

Klaus and Diego sit at the two ends of the couch, with the chess set oriented sideways between them on the coffee table. Vanya reminds them how to set up the pieces to start the game. "White goes first," she adds.

"Lucky me," Klaus murmurs, and jumps his king's knight to an illegal square. "Checkmate!" he declares cheerfully, which it isn't.

Diego just looks perplexed.

Vanya lets out a little snort and says, "Do you want to handle this, Ben, or should I?"

"Klaus, the knight moves in a little L," Ben says. "You could put it here or here." He points at the two possible spaces.

"Mmmmmkay, but that seems a lot less good." Klaus retreats his knight to one of the squares that Ben indicated.

Diego responds by advancing his queen's pawn one square. Which, okay, it's a _legal_ move.

"Do you want to try the power thing now?" Vanya asks Klaus.

"Sure, okay, that's what we're here for," Klaus says. "If everybody reeeaaaaaally thinks this is the way to go?"

"As opposed to what?" Ben asks. "Numbing yourself with drugs again?"

"That system has sooooo much to recommend it," Klaus says, scratching absently at the inside of his elbow and then giving a little shudder.

Diego's lips twitch into a subtle frown, and Ben guesses that he managed to read between Klaus's lines again. "Klaus, you've got this," he says. "I promise. You _are_ strong enough."

Klaus swallows, and pushes his king's bishop's pawn forward two squares. "Okay, Vanvan, tell me how you shrink your power."

Vanya looks thoughtful. "I sort of imagine it like blowing on a candle so gently that the flame barely flickers. Or walking on tiptoe. But not with your actual toes, you know?"

"Hm," Klaus says, and narrows his eyes as Diego sends his queenside bishop all the way down to b4.

"I'm ready," Dave says from the armchair. He's leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, watching Klaus carefully.

And then Dave disappears from Ben's point of view.

"He's gone for me now," Ben says. "Is he still there for you?"

Klaus nods, and moves his king's rook's pawn one square—which is actually a pretty reasonable response to Diego's threat with the bishop. And then he clenches his fists and squeezes his eyes shut for a moment. When he opens them, he stares wide-eyed at the armchair. "Now he's gone."

"It's working?" Vanya asks. "Oh my God, Klaus, that's great!"

Diego immediately captures Klaus's pawn with his bishop. And then Klaus takes Diego's bishop with his king's knight's pawn.

The chess game is like watching two toddlers practice judo on each other. But the important thing is, Diego's idea seems to be working; Klaus isn't panicking.

"What about Ben?" Diego asks.

"He's gone too," Klaus says.

Oops, oh well.

Ben watches as Klaus and Diego play a fast sequence of moves, exchanging captures at a high rate. Neither of them seems to have any strategy at all in mind. Ben indulges himself in suggesting some better moves to Klaus—it's not cheating if Klaus can't hear him.

The fact that Klaus can't hear him is making him a little anxious, to be honest, reminding him of the day after Klaus took Vanya's pills. He tells himself not to worry: Klaus will halt the experiment soon, he's sure.

The end comes when Klaus reaches out to move his queen but instead fumbles and knocks it over, along with several other pieces.

"You okay?" Diego asks.

Klaus shakes his head and clutches his neck and starts gasping.

"What? Shit, Klaus—let go. Stop holding back your power," Vanya says, moving quickly to his side and trying to tug his hands away from his neck. " _Breathe_."

Klaus is wheezing and coughing now, and fumbling against Vanya's attempts to stop him from choking himself.

Diego leans in and takes over, easily overpowering Klaus and pulling his hands safely down. "Hey there, buddy, take it easy."

It takes a minute or so for Klaus to fully get his breathing back to normal. When he has, Dave reappears to Ben, kneeling at Klaus's side with a worried expression.

So then they debrief.

"Yeah, it worked," Klaus says. "Zero ghost vision. Only it felt like ... holding my breath? Metaphor-breath at first, but then actual breath. I don't think I could do it for very _long_."

"Everything else you've tried, you've gotten better at with practice," Ben points out.

"Yeah, but this is like, opposite-land. I'm not _using_ my power, I'm _not_ -using it." Klaus puffs out a frustrated breath, which turns into more coughing. He groans, and sinks against the back of the couch.

"So your power is seriously, like, always on?" Diego says. "I mean, that's not how mine feels at all. I have to reach for it whenever I want to use it." He flips out a knife and tosses it across the room, making its path bend sharply midway in a physically-impossible right angle. It lodges in Vanya's door frame, vibrating.

"Me too," Vanya says. "I don't think I want to demonstrate indoors, though."

Ben taps Klaus's knee to get his attention and then, hooking an ankle around Klaus's, goes for the typewriter. **Mine was like that too. But I bet Luther's works more like Klaus's.**

"Good point," Vanya agrees. "He's never _not_ strong."

Klaus looks appalled. "You're saying that of all of us, I have the most in common with _Luther_?"

"In that one very specific way," Ben reassures him, almost managing not to smirk.

"I don't think Luther's ever tried to turn his off, though," Diego says. "So it's not like he could help with this."

**I just had some other ideas,** Ben types. **Hang on, I'll explain to Klaus.**

"Mmmm, kay?" Klaus says, looking expectant.

"When you got high, it never really turned off your power, right? But it made it _weaker_ , and then you could choose to only see me."

"Sure, that's the theory," Klaus says. "We could test it, if, say, maybe I could get a hold of a little molly? Just one or two pills. Diego could escort me and make sure I don't go overboard."

"Uh, _no_ ," Diego says, looking alarmed. "What the hell did Ben just suggest?"

**Don't listen to Klaus,** Ben types quickly. **I'm going somewhere with this. Give me time.** "You won't remember this," he says to Klaus, "but one time when we were at Diego's place while you were really sick, you gave Dave the power to see me, and that ghost boxer disappeared."

"Disappeared for you, or for me?" Klaus asks.

"For me," Ben admits. "I don't think you'd even spotted him yet at that point—he wasn't in your line of sight. But when you used to block the ghosts out with drugs—" (a careful past tense there) "—my awareness was always tied to yours. I could see them if you could; I couldn't if you couldn't. I think that's your default setting, with me."

"I really don't like the feel of it when I take away your power to see Dave," Klaus agrees, with a little shudder.

"Right, so this is kind of what I'm saying—your power isn't just all-on or all-off. You can make choices about how to allocate it. I think that day when you were so sick, it was interfering with your power kind of the same way drugs do. When you gave Dave the power to see me, that strained the limits of the power you had access to, and we _all_ lost the ability to see the boxer."

Klaus frowns. "Interesting idea, Benny, but not super duper helpful? I can't just make myself _sick_ again." He tilts his head. "Well, I _could_ , there are _ways_ , but—"

"That is _not_ what I meant," Ben says quickly, and then types (seeing Diego and Vanya's newly worried expressions): **Seriously, please ignore everything Klaus is saying. I'll explain later.** "What I'm thinking is, maybe it would be easier for you to shut down your power to see other ghosts if you were giving more power to me at the same time?"

"Ummmmmmm." Klaus frowns thoughtfully. "Okay, I see your point. Let's try it." He waves a hand at the chess board. "Vanya! You're up. Versus Ben."

* * *

This time, Klaus directs everyone into their positions for the trial. The chess board is reset on the coffee table; Vanya takes Diego's place, and Ben takes Klaus's.

Dave sits on the armchair again, the willing guinea pig. His expression wavers between wary and hopeful.

Klaus goes all the way to the archway separating the living room from the kitchen, and beckons Diego to come with him.

"Okay," Klaus tells Ben. "Go ahead and play Vanya."

Ben feels his substance subtly changing, and he knows that if he reaches out for a chess piece, he'll be able to pick it up. "Are you sure?" he asks Klaus. "From way over there?"

Klaus nods. "When we're next to each other it's too easy now."

"Okay." Ben contemplates the board for a moment, and then slides a pawn two squares forward.

Vanya lets out a startled laugh, and then answers with a pawn of her own.

"What do you want me to do?" Diego asks Klaus.

"Hold me," Klaus says promptly. "I don't want to fall and crack my head."

"Uh, okay," Diego says, and puts his hands on Klaus's shoulders.

"No, no, not like that." Klaus turns around, breaking Diego's grip, and backs into Diego's chest. "Bear hug," he instructs him, pressing his own arms flat against his sides.

Diego frowns, and wraps his arms around Klaus's torso. Meanwhile, Vanya and Ben play through a few more moves and exchange a pair of pawns.

"Tighter, Diego," Klaus says.

"Dude, there's no way your ribs are all healed up yet," Diego says, clearly not tightening his grip.

"Klaus, have you tried not seeing Dave yet?" Ben asks. Dave is still visible to _him_ , but Ben has no idea at this point whether that indicates that he's still visible to Klaus, or not.

"Trying it now," Klaus says.

A moment later, Dave disappears.

"It worked," Klaus says. "Keep playing, Ben."

So Ben does. He feels like about half of his attention is on Klaus and another 40% is on the logistics of physically moving the pieces, which leaves only about 10% for actual chess strategy. So it's not surprising that Vanya starts kicking his ass. She puts his king in check, and he only manages to rescue it by sacrificing a bishop.

"Klaus, you're shaking," Diego says after a bit.

"Yeah yeah, I know, ignore it," Klaus says. "I'm trying something here. Ben, can you see Dave?"

Ben looks up. Dave is back, on the chair, sitting up straight and watching Klaus with an alert, worried expression.

"Yeah," Ben says.

"Okay, cool. I can't." Klaus whimpers suddenly. "That feels too weird." And Dave vanishes again, from Ben's point of view.

"And he's gone," Ben says. And then moves his queen to rescue her from Vanya's rook.

"Gotcha!" Vanya chortles, and moves a knight that Ben hadn't been paying enough attention to. "Checkmate next move."

Ben studies the board; she's right. There's no way out. He tips over his king.

"Klaus, you're bleeding," Diego says sharply. "Time to stop."

So then there's a flurry of activity. Ben can't touch the chessboard anymore. Dave reappears and rushes to Klaus's side. Vanya gets some tissues and dabs away at the blood that Klaus's nosebleed has dripped onto his shirt (the blue Che Guevara one), Diego's arm, and the floor. Diego maneuvers Klaus to the couch, and makes him lean over and pinch his nose.

"Okay," Ben says. "So I guess that kind of worked?"

"I learned some things," Klaus agrees. His voice is distorted by his blocked nose. "Not sure this is actually better than the drugs, though."

"You're finding more ways to control your power every day," Ben points out. "This is good, Klaus. You're doing so well."

"Maybe we should call it a day, at this point?" Dave suggests. He's sitting next to Klaus, and he looks like he really wants to touch him but he's keeping his hands to himself.

Klaus looks up. "Vanvan? Would it be okay if I had some alone time with Dave, now? In the bedroom?"

Vanya looks surprised, and then slightly concerned—and then she smiles ruefully. "Oh. Well, sure. Go ahead."

"You need to _rest_ ," Dave says to Klaus.

"Yuh huh." Klaus leans against Dave and doesn't fall, so he must have just made him solid. "You can help."

Dave smiles. "Okay, sure."

Diego helps Klaus stand up, but then Klaus waves him off and takes Dave's hand. "See y'all later!" he calls out pretty cheerfully. He catches Ben's eye. "You too. Stay."

"If you're going into the bedroom to do what I think you're going to do, I really don't need to see it," Ben murmurs, and pointedly settles on the couch.

"Ben's giving me privacy," Klaus says, delightedly, to Dave. "This is a first!"

Ben chooses not to point out that this is the first time Klaus has ever asked for privacy in a context that Ben would rate as _safe_.

"Have fun," he says simply, instead. And gives Dave a friendly smile to let him know it's okay.

* * *

Ben doesn't begrudge Klaus and Dave their private time. Ben likes Dave, and he thinks he's good for Klaus, and if the two of them are really going to try pursuing this mixed ghost/human relationship: okay.

But outside of Klaus's orbit, Ben can't interact with anyone or anything, so the afternoon is a little boring.

It helps that Vanya spends most of it practicing the violin, and Ben gets to listen to her. Diego heads off to put in a few hours of work at the gym.

Ben is surprised to see Dave—and only Dave—coming out of the bedroom around four in the afternoon. He gives Ben a little wave, showing that he can see him.

"Where's Klaus?" Ben asks. Which is a dumb question, admittedly—obviously he's still in the bedroom.

"Napping," Dave says.

"Did you two...?" Ben trails off.

Dave gives him an odd look. "Do you really want to know?"

Ben shakes his head quickly, already regretting his half-formed question. "Nope!"

It is a delightful new pleasure to _not_ know every intimate detail of Klaus's life, and to not need to worry about it.

* * *

Not that Ben's ignorance lasts for long.

"Oh, actually we just kissed a bunch," Klaus tells Ben when he wakes up, later. Even though Ben didn't ask. "I was too wrecked for anything else."

Ben's alone in the bedroom with Klaus at the moment; he'd been taking advantage of Klaus's presence to read a new book Vanya picked up at the library for him yesterday. Diego's still at the gym but due back soon, Vanya's in the kitchen making dinner, and Dave went out for a walk a while ago.

"Do you think it would be weird if I started having sex with a ghost?" Klaus asks then.

Ben puts down the book. "Um..." He's really not sure how to answer that.

Klaus rolls over to look at Ben more directly. He's back in the AC/DC crop top; the bloodstained blue shirt is visible crumpled at the top of Vanya's laundry basket. "Have you ever wished you could have sex with somebody? Since you've been a ghost?"

"Not ... exactly," Ben says. "I guess I've had some crushes. But nobody can see or hear or touch me, so ... it's kind of pointless."

"Crushes?" Klaus perks up. "Who? C'mon, tell me!"

Ben sighs. "Remember Laura? Kathy's roommate?" Kathy was an art-school graduate student in the process of dropping out, who flirted with self-destruction by dating Klaus for a week last year.

"Oh, Laura hated me!" Klaus recalls, his tone discordantly cheerful. "Is that why you liked her?"

"No!" Ben glares at Klaus. "I liked the really intense focus she had when she was solving math problems. The way she'd push up her glasses and scrunch her hair in her hands, and then get this _giant_ grin when she'd seen what she needed to do."

"Neeeerd," Klaus mocks him, softly and affectionately. And then he adds—"Well, I guess you could visit her now, but you'd have to be me, so that's probably a non-starter. And super awkward if she still lives with Kathy, because as I recall, that _did_ end badly."

Ben stares at Klaus. "Are you saying—you'd let me _date_ somebody? As you?"

"Well, I'm not exactly worried about you doing anything with my body that _I_ wouldn't do," Klaus says, rolling onto his back to stare at the ceiling. "Other than, you know, taking good care of it and making sure it eats regularly and doesn't get any new holes in it. You're super boring." He pauses, and fidgets with his fingers. "I wish I had a joint."

"Um, no," Ben says. "No to the joint, and no to using your body to have a girlfriend. I mean—that would be _way_ over-the-line weird. And you'd be _there_ the whole time, right? When I possess you, you still see and feel everything that's happening?"

"Kind of remotely, but yeah," Klaus says. "So I guess it would only work if the chick was cool with freaky kinda-threesomes. And that doesn't sound like your kind of lady at all. Oh well."

"Hey though," Ben says—partly just to change the subject, because the current conversation really is a little out of his comfort zone—"remember when you said I could possess you at supper, the other night? Do you think we could do that today? I missed getting to talk to Diego and Vanya this afternoon."

"Oh, sure," Klaus says. "Only—just to warn you. I've been kind of itchy-twitchy all day. Like, I _really_ want drugs. And Diego won't even let me get a fucking cigarette. He's all—don't fuck up your lungs any more you idiot, you still sound like you're dying every time you cough. Fuuuck."

"I'm sure I can handle it," Ben says. "I'm not the one with the addiction."

Klaus just gives a skeptical sounding snort. Which turns into a coughing fit, proving Diego's point in his absence.

* * *

When Ben does possess Klaus for supper, he discovers to his dismay that Klaus was _right_.

"I can't believe this," he says to Vanya and Diego, passing the mashed potatoes around. "The idea of going out and getting high is _really_ appealing. I feel like I'm going out of my skin." (Klaus's skin.)

"You wouldn't, though?" Vanya asks, eyeing him with concern. "Right?"

"No, of course not," Ben assures her, scooping carrots onto his plate.

"Maybe it's good that you're giving him a break, then," Diego suggests. "I know he's still in there—" Ben had carefully reminded Diego and Vanya at the start of the meal that Klaus would hear and remember everything they said, just to forestall any awkward moments of them thinking they were talking to Ben in confidence— "but at least for now he doesn't have to fight the urges."

"He's been offering me the use of his body a lot more than I've been taking him up on it," Ben mentions, serving himself a few slices of roast beef. And then, skirting the edges of what feels comfortable to say with Klaus passively listening, he adds "He even suggested that I could maybe date somebody. Using his body." To Vanya and Diego's widened eyes, he adds quickly, "I said no! That would be way too weird."

"Weirder than anything else about our lives?" Diego asks, philosophically.

"Ben," Vanya says, absently spearing a carrot, "Is it only Klaus that you can possess? Or could you do it with somebody else?"

Ben halts with his own fork halfway to his mouth, stunned by the question. "Wow. Vanya. I have no idea."

* * *

They experiment the next morning.

Diego volunteers. He sits on the couch with his fists clenched, looking extremely nervous.

"Okay, he's going for it!" Klaus cheerfully narrates, as Ben approaches Diego. "He's getting closer ... closer ..."

And then Ben just wafts through Diego like he isn't even there.

"False alarm!" Klaus calls out. "He passed right through you."

Ben tries a few more times, but he can't feel anything happening. "I don't think it's possible," he says. "Klaus, I can only possess you."

Klaus repeats the conclusion, and Diego relaxes. "Okay," he says. "No offense Ben, but I can't say I'm sorry about that."

"Okay, so the person has to be Klaus," Vanya says. "Does the ghost have to be Ben?"

Klaus and Ben both look at Dave.

"I've already said, I don't want to do that," Dave says.

"Please?" Ben says. "It's not like we have any other ghost friends we can safely test this with."

Dave looks really unhappy. "It feels like ... I don't know. A violation."

Klaus shakes his head quickly. "It's not even remotely a sex thing! Ben's been doing it a bunch and he's my _brother_."

"That's not what I meant," Dave says. "I don't like the idea of taking away all your choices. Even for a few seconds."

"Awwww." Klaus looks like he's melting.

"But seriously," Ben says. "This is a safety question. If I'm the only ghost who can do it, Klaus can relax. But if not..."

"What's happening?" Diego asks.

"Dave and Ben are arguing," Klaus says. "They both want what's best for me, and it's really sweet." He turns to Dave. "But Ben's right this time. For real."

Dave sighs. "Yeah, I know. I'm just taking a moment to resign myself to it."

So they set Klaus up carefully on the couch, with Diego sitting next to him to grab him if anything untoward starts happening. Dave stands in front of him, looking uncomfortable. He rubs his hands. He blows on his hands. He presses his hands in front of himself, prayer-style.

And then he jumps, as though off a diving board, _into_ Klaus.

Klaus's eyes go wide. "Oh, shit," he says, with Dave's slight Texas twang. "It worked."

And then Dave is tumbling _out_ of Klaus, and Klaus is shaking, and Diego is grabbing him to stop him from falling over.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" Dave is saying, crouching in front of Klaus and looking up at him frantically.

"Gentle exits take a bit of practice," Ben mentions. He's proud of the fact that last night when he left Klaus after dinner, Klaus only shook for few seconds and was fine directly afterwards.

"Fuck," Dave says, squeezing Klaus's knee. "Please be okay, Klaus. I didn't want to hurt you."

The shaking fit lasts for maybe twenty seconds. At the end of it, Klaus goes limp against Diego, but he doesn't lose consciousness.

Ben slides in next to him, checks that he's okay, and then goes for the typewriter. **Okay,** he says. **We're going to have to do something about this.**


	18. Chapter 18

Diego's the one who comes up with the detailed plan for Klaus and Ben's anti-possession combat practice.

Diego puts a bowl on the coffee table, and the white queen from the chess set over on the dining table.

Ben gets a point if he can possess Klaus and get the queen into the bowl. Klaus gets a point if he fights Ben off before Ben reaches the goal. No surprise attacks; Diego has to be present, standing by ready to catch Klaus wherever he falls.

"This might be safer in the gym, on the mats," Diego mentions at one point—but then Ben tells him about the ghost of the boxer that haunts the gym, and he gives up that idea.

They limit practice to once a day, because fighting off possession is _hard_ on Klaus. Every time, he ends up violently seizing, and losing consciousness for up to twenty minutes afterwards.

Vanya takes to standing by with a bucket, because they discover (unpleasantly) that when Klaus 'wins' and ejects Ben, he tends to barf. And _then_ seize and pass out. So much fun.

Dave refuses to be in the room when it's happening, after the first couple of times. He says that he trusts Diego and Vanya to look after Klaus, but he finds watching the process unbearable. "I don't want to start hating Ben," he says in a moment of painful frankness.

Ben doesn't feel bad about his role. It's like when Dad made them practice fighting, as kids. Sure they hurt each other sometimes, but their skills kept them alive in the field. (Until one time they didn't; but Ben prefers not to dwell on that day.)

They keep track of their score, day by day. One for Klaus. Two for Klaus. One for Ben. 3-1. 3-2. 3-3. 4-3. 5-3.

Other than that, the days settle into a pretty quiet routine. Diego arranges with Al that he'll always do his hours at the gym in the early morning, which never overlaps with Vanya's teaching, rehearsals or performances. That way, Klaus always has a living sibling around, in addition to his two attentive ghosts.

Escorted by Vanya, they make field trips to the library to get more books. That's really fun. Klaus follows Ben and Dave around and picks everything they want off the shelves for them. They borrow them on Vanya's card.

Klaus starts taking turns with Ben reading out loud to Dave. There's a whole _series_ of Dune books, as it turns out. Dave's enthusiasm for them is contagious; Ben starts to develop firm opinions about the Bene Gesserit, and some nights after the living siblings fall asleep, he and Dave entertain themselves debating the merits of the Kwisatz Haderach.

Klaus has a few better nights and then a few worse ones. Ben doesn't look for a pattern; it's always been like that. At least now when he wakes up shaking and crying he reaches for comfort from Dave, Ben, and whichever living sibling was spending the night with him, rather than popping a pill and sinking into oblivion.

Some days, Klaus whines a lot about wanting drugs. Other days, he doesn't mention it. He doesn't make any attempts to sneak out of the apartment.

Every other night, Klaus lets Ben possess him at supper. Unlike their combat practice, these consensual possessions seem to cause Klaus very little strain. Ben gets so good at slipping out of him gently that sometimes Klaus barely even shudders.

Ben looks forward to those communal meals with Vanya and Diego with a happy heart. The situation is weird, sure, but in a very real way he feels alive again, and part of the family. Although ... honestly, the alternate-day dinners, where Klaus is himself and Ben is at the typewriter and Dave is there with them, are even better in some ways.

A couple of times Ben even speaks on the phone with Allison while he's possessing Klaus. The situation takes a little explaining, but she doesn't waste much time on skepticism. The first time they do it, she starts crying twice in the middle of the conversation, but the second time she holds herself together and even brings Claire over to coo into the phone.

And, at Allison's urging, they compose a carefully-worded letter to Luther. Ben writes it himself, at the typewriter, but Klaus, Vanya and Diego all chime in with suggestions.

Ben doesn't mention Vanya. He explains Klaus's sobriety, and his new control over his powers. He says that Diego is helping them out with a place to stay. ("If dear old Dad reads this, which you know he will, let's not make it _easy_ for him to find us," Klaus says.) Ben reveals to Luther, as he previously revealed to each of his other living siblings, that he's been haunting Klaus since they were seventeen. He emphasizes that he's fine, not in pain, and that he doesn't blame any of his siblings for what happened that day.

They seal the letter in an envelope, and mail it to Allison, with the plan that she'll send it to Dad and ask him to pass it up to Luther unread. Not that any of them trusts that Dad would respect Allison and Luther's privacy, but at least it's worth a shot.

* * *

Klaus's ribs heal up, and his cough finally goes away. Despite the grueling daily anti-possession training, he looks healthier than he has in years. Because Ben spends time _inside_ Klaus's body every day, he gets to check the progress of Klaus's recovery directly. He's so happy for his brother the first time he enters Klaus's body and doesn't feel any pain at all.

Meanwhile, Vanya is thriving. She makes a couple more excursions to the woods to practice with her power. And! While rehearsing in the living room one morning on her violin, she discovers that she can tap into her power while she plays.

She briefly deafens everybody in the household who has physical eardrums. But once they all recover from _that_ incident, she manages to throttle down her power again and bring it into the music somehow as ethereal, transcendent beauty. It makes Ben cry, listening to her play. And he's a ghost.

The next day, she auditions for a place in the St. Pluvium Chamber Orchestra. And gets it.

* * *

"Hey," Vanya says, the day after she accepts the position with the orchestra, "Diego. Do you want to get a two-bedroom place together?"

Diego looks up in surprise from where he's sharpening his knives. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. I know it's only been a few weeks, but this feels right, doesn't it? You and me and Klaus and Ben ... and Dave?" She tends to afterthought-Dave like that sometimes, which is understandable since she never gets to interact with him directly.

Diego lets out a little laugh. "That's a lot of folks for a two-bedroom."

"It's a lot of folks for a _one_ -bedroom, and that's where we are now," Vanya points out wryly. "Anyway, the reason I'm asking now is, I saw my landlord this morning and she told me there's a two-bedroom unit available upstairs. Like, _now_. Tomorrow's the first of the month, and the last tenant bailed in the middle of the night last week. We wouldn't even have to put in a deposit, since I'd be moving in the same building. It's only two hundred dollars a month more than this place, and if you could make up that difference..."

Diego's face falls. "Van, Al doesn't _pay_ me. He just gives me the room."

Vanya frowns. "What? Is that even legal?"

"Well, the _room_ isn't," Diego says. "That's why Klaus couldn't stay there."

"Okay ... I'm going to make a little more with the orchestra than I did with my old ensemble. If you could manage _one_ hundred a month, I can swing the rest. At least at first." Vanya seems pretty determined about this. Ben is impressed.

Diego still looks uncomfortable. "Van, I don't have a way to get money."

"But you must," Vanya says. "How are you getting food? Gas for your car?"

"I had a job as a security guard at a grocery store until a few months ago. I had a bit of savings. It's almost gone, though."

Klaus looks up from the couch, where he's been snuggling with Dave. "Diego? You were almost destitute? Why didn't you say anything?"

Diego looks _really_ twitchy now. "I would've figured something out."

"If need be," Klaus says, "I have ways of getting money."

The "NO!" comes sharply and simultaneously from both Diego and Vanya.

"Diego, you should tell Al that you're moving out, and negotiate that he starts paying you an hourly wage," Vanya says. "And if he won't do that, you should get a job somewhere else. Why did you leave the grocery store?"

Diego rubs the back of his neck and winces. "It just didn't work out."

Vanya gives Diego a slightly worried look, but apparently decides not to pursue it. "Okay," she says. "Talk to Al. And I'll tell my landlord that we're moving upstairs."

"Vanyaya, I _like_ this new assertive you!" Klaus says. "Um, exactly who gets which of the two bedrooms?"

"Well, I was thinking I would get one, and the two ... three ... four of you could kind of ... share?"

"It's okay, I don't need a bedroom," Klaus says. "I haven't had one since I left the Academy."

Vanya nods. "I was sort of taking into account the fact that you don't like to sleep alone. How often did you sleep in your own room even _at_ the Academy?"

"Never if I could help it," Klaus admits freely.

Oh. Ben hadn't been aware that even _Vanya_ knew about Klaus's night-time visits. He wondered if Klaus had ever crawled in with her.

"I don't mind sharing," Diego says. "If we're doing this. Are we doing this?"

"We're doing this," Vanya says firmly. "And by the way, Klaus, you can still come and sleep with me some nights. I just ... I want to have a space that's mine, that's all. And I might want a bedroom with no brothers in it if, you know, I bring somebody home."

"O M G Vanya!" Klaus says, popping upright with a delighted expression. Dave balances him with a hand at the small of his back, looking amused. "Is there somebody?"

"There _might_ be somebody I met at the audition," Vanya says. "Um. Slightly too early to say."

* * *

So Diego heads to the gym to renegotiate his living arrangement and salary with Al. Vanya has some students scheduled at the conservatory, so Diego brings Klaus with him.

Klaus and his ghostly entourage, of course.

"Al, I-I'm m-moving o-out," Diego says to his grizzled boss when they get to the gym.

Uh oh. Ben and Klaus give Diego nearly identical looks of concern.

Al just says, "Okay. You got somewhere safe to go?"

Diego opens his mouth a couple of times, but absolutely nothing comes out. He's rigid with tension.

Klaus steps forward. He slings an arm lightly over Diego's shoulders, and says, "We're moving in with our sister. She's a professional musician!"

"Sounds fancy," Al says.

"So anyway we'll have to chip in some rent," Klaus goes on. "Now that Diego isn't living in the back room, you'll pay him, right?"

"Sure," Al says. "$11.10 an hour. Three hours a day. And that floor better be pristine, Hargreeves."

Diego nods, clenching his jaw.

"We're going to go pack up some of Diego's things," Klaus says. "Will it be okay if we come back in a day or two for the rest?"

"Yeah, yeah," Al says. "Not like I'm moving anybody else in there."

"Okeee dokeee, byeee for now!" Klaus lilts cheerfully. He gives Diego's shoulders a quick squeeze and then takes his hand and tugs him swiftly to the back room. Diego goes along with it, a little wide-eyed but unresisting.

The ghost of the boxer is in his customary place on the little landing just inside the door to the boiler room. Klaus winces, averts his eyes, and pulls Diego quickly past the ghost and down into the main space.

In terms of Klaus dealing calmly with ghosts, that might have just been a new high-water mark. Ben is impressed.

"You okay, Dee-go?" Klaus asks, scrunching his forehead a little and regarding their brother. Diego still looks tight and tense.

"Yeah, sure," he says.

Klaus catches Ben's eye and makes a little face, clearly conveying _obviously-he's-not-okay-but-he-says-he-is-so-we'll-let-it-go_. "So what all here do we need to pack? And do you have any, like, boxes?"

"Al took me in when I had nowhere to go," Diego says abruptly, like it's a confession Klaus has just wrenched out of him through an extended interrogation.

"Umm, okay," Klaus says. "So he's one of those crusty-on-the-outside, sweet-on-the-inside types, right?"

"When Eudora broke up with me ... I was in a bad place, man. If it wasn't for Al, I think I would've ended up on the street."

"Aw, the street isn't so bad," Klaus says.

"Yes it is," Ben counters.

"Ben says it is," Klaus reports immediately. "Actually he's right. I just didn't care because I was high all the time. For reals, though, the nights I actually slept on the literal street? Never really fun. I recommend couch-surfing as much as possible."

Diego lets out a little huff of a laugh. "Thanks for the perspective, buddy."

"So..." Klaus says, "Boxes?"

There's a pile of broken-down cardboard boxes leaning against the far wall of the room, and it's short work to restore shape to four of them. This is sufficient to house all of Diego's clothes and assorted other small belongings.

"The couch and the dresser are mine," Diego says, sweeping an assessing look over the room once the boxes are packed. "They won't fit in my car. I'll have to figure something else out. Everything else is Al's."

Klaus eyes the boxes. " _Wow_ you have a lot of stuff. We're going to have to do a couple of trips out to the car."

"A lot of..." Diego repeats, a little doubtfully, looking at his meager collection of worldly possessions. And then he shakes his head as though to clear it, and probably remembers who he's talking to. "Sure, yeah. I'm a real pack rat. Are you okay to carry a box?"

"No problem!" Klaus says. He picks up the closest box without even wincing.

"Great," Diego smiles—proudly, Ben thinks, taking personal credit for Klaus's improved physical state (which is fair). Diego picks up a box himself. "Two trips, then."

As they file past Al, the gym owner says "Hey, Hargreeves. Some lady left a message for you yesterday. Spot, she said her name was?"

"Um, do you mean Patch?" Diego suggests.

"Sure, maybe that was it. Weird name anyway. She wants to see you. I'm not your fucking secretary, Hargreeves."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Al can't actually appear in a fanfic without declaring that he isn't Diego's secretary, can he? Like, I'm pretty sure there's a rule.
> 
> Sorry this chapter was so short. It's the shortest chapter in the whole fic, even though it's also the chapter in which the most time passes. Anyway, in the next chapter we'll see Eudora again, so hopefully that gives you something to look forward to!


	19. Chapter 19

Eudora lives in a large apartment building just west of downtown. Diego lets himself into the building with a key.

"What's with that?" Klaus asks, eyeing the key as Diego tucks it back in his pocket.

"She let me keep it after I moved out. I water her plants whenever she goes to Arizona to visit her mom."

"Oh wow," Klaus says. "I am learning _so much_ about you right now."

Eudora's apartment is 1403; at least, Ben assumes it is, since that's the door that Diego knocks on.

She opens the door wearing yoga pants and a loose white t-shirt; her hair is down. "Diego," she says, looking surprised.

"You left a message for me at the gym?"

"Sure, yes. Yesterday." And then she looks past Diego and her face lights up. "Oh, you brought Klaus! Great!"

Diego seems a little taken aback. "That's great?"

"Come in," she says, moving back to open the way for them. "Klaus, you're looking so much better than the last time I saw you!"

"We've met?" Klaus asks, blinking at her in confusion but letting himself be drawn in, in Diego's wake.

"She was the cop," Ben reminds him. "She brought Diego back to his place in cuffs after he beat up Eddie."

"Ooh," Klaus says to Eudora. "I didn't recognize you out of uniform."

And then he freezes.

"Never mind, I'll wait in the hallway," he says, starting to back away.

"What?" Diego says, and quickly reaches around Klaus to push the door shut. "No, you'll stay were I can _see_ you, bro."

Of course Diego can't see what Klaus has seen—and what Ben and presumably Dave are now seeing.

Eudora's apartment is _crowded_ with ghosts.

There's a woman with stringy blond hair and mottled bruises covering half her face. Three different guys with gunshot wounds. A large gray-haired man with a slit throat. A teenage boy with horrific bloating; Ben thinks he might be a drowning victim.

"You know what? You can handle this, Klaus," Dave says, hovering an insubstantial hand over Klaus's now trembling shoulder. "I've seen you handle worse than this. We were in a war zone together. _Lotta_ ghosts there. You ran out of drugs halfway through a six-day op once. We got through it. I want you to breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth, and listen to my voice. Can you make it so I can hold your hand?"

Apparently yes; Klaus fumbles for Dave's hand, and squeezes it with a white-knuckled grip. Dave actually winces. Ben wonders about that; he has never yet felt pain as a ghost.

Meanwhile, oblivious to what's happening, Eudora is saying to Diego, "So, I got the promotion."

"That's great!" Diego enthuses. "I _knew_ they'd see how smart you were."

"Well..." Eudora looks happy, but hesitant. "There's a complication. There was _one_ promotion available, and it turns out some of my new coworkers were hoping the other guy would get it."

"Fuck them," Diego says instantly. "You're better than the other guy."

"You don't even know who the other guy is," Eudora points out.

"Doesn't change my opinion."

"It's Murphy."

Diego sucks air in between his teeth. "Okay, you are _much_ better than him."

"Yeah, but he's got the connections." She shrugs. "Anyway, there's been a little hazing, nothing I can't handle, but then they throw me this _case_. It's a nightmare. Four months open, missing evidence, no leads—"

"They're setting you up to fail?"

She nods. "Looks that way. But—I've been going over it for two days, and something doesn't smell right. I said no leads, but at one point three months ago somebody came into the station and offered to make a statement. It was after hours, he got told to come back the next day. He never came back. Yesterday I cross-referenced with Missing Persons, and got a hit—a report filed by his sister, three weeks after he came to the station. She hadn't seen him in a month."

"You think he got disappeared? Because he was gonna squeal?"

"That's my working hypothesis, yeah." She clears her throat, looking suddenly uncomfortable. "So I was wondering ... if maybe Klaus ... with his _connections_..."

Ben's only been half-listening to Eudora and Diego. He's been paying more attention to Klaus and Dave.

To the untrained eye, it might look like Dave isn't getting anywhere in his efforts to calm Klaus down—since the initial moment of hand-holding, Klaus has just been standing rigid and wide-eyed, clutching Dave's ghostly hand with a death grip. Dave's telling Klaus some story about his childhood pets—one time the cat and dog came home with burrs all over their fur, and it took Dave and his sister hours to get them clean. The story is banal, and totally unrelated to their current situation.

In other words: Dave is doing an _amazing_ job of helping Klaus hold his shit together. Klaus is fully sober in a room full of gruesome ghosts, and he's not screaming or weeping or curling up into a ball. Ben is really impressed.

And that's the point where Eudora gets to her idea about Klaus's 'connections'.

Diego arches an eyebrow, and reflexively looks back at Klaus. And notices, for the first time, that something might be amiss. "Hey bro, are you okay?"

"Hm?" Klaus says, startling lightly. "Oh, just dandy," he adds in a breathy, barely-there voice.

Diego doesn't seem 100% reassured by Klaus's assurances, but of course he doesn't have access to any of the second level of conversation happening in the room. As far as he knows, Klaus just walked into Eudora's apartment and got a bit weird and quiet. "Hey, maybe you should sit down," he says, apparently drawing the conclusion that what's wrong is that Klaus is getting tired.

"Oh, yes, of course!" Eudora says, looking appalled at herself for not having already suggested it.

So the next thing Ben knows, Eudora and Diego are ushering a barely-responsive Klaus even deeper into the apartment full of ghosts, and settling him on Eudora's couch.

"I can take your coats," Eudora offers. Diego shucks his off and hands it over, but Klaus just huddles into his, and Eudora doesn't press him. She hangs Diego's jacket in the closet by the door. So it looks like they're going to be here for a while.

"Klaus, you should tell Diego what you're seeing," Ben says.

Klaus catches Ben's eye and responds with a tiny head-shake.

"Would you like something to eat?" Eudora asks Diego and Klaus. "I just made a big pot of chili."

"Oh, that would be great!" Diego replies for the both of them. "It smells delicious."

Eudora disappears around the corner. Half of the ghosts in the room follow her, and a couple of others just blink out of existence—probably making their own instant ghost-moves to the kitchen. There's just one gunshot victim left behind, and the woman with the bruised face. _They're_ both looking at Klaus a little curiously, but he is very concertedly not looking at them.

Oh. Ben has a guess as to why Klaus doesn't want to tell Diego about the ghosts. Currently, the ghosts don't necessarily know that Klaus can see them. If Klaus says anything about them, though, they will.

Ben immediately shares his insight with Dave, secure in the knowledge that the other ghosts can't hear _him_ talk.

"Yup, I thought of that," Dave nods, keeping his gaze steady on Klaus the whole time. "Klaus, do you want to try shrinking your power so you don't see them?"

Another tiny head-shake. Considering Klaus's track record with that technique so far, Ben doesn't blame him for not wanting to try it in now the middle of a ghost-crowded room.

Eudora comes back with a bowl in each hand, trailed by her gruesome ghostly fan club. She gives the bowls to Diego and Klaus. Diego looks very happy and digs in immediately. Klaus cups his bowl between his hands and stares at it like he's not sure what it is.

"Eat the chili," Dave urges him. "It'll give you something to focus on." (Something other than the ghosts, goes without saying.)

Klaus grimaces, but takes up the spoon and starts taking little bites.

"It's good, right?" Diego says to Klaus.

Ben has been pretty focused on Klaus and the ghost crisis, so he hasn't been paying much attention to Diego. Now he notices: Diego is perched on the edge of his seat, shooting anxious looks between Eudora and Klaus, and trying to get Klaus to compliment Eudora's cooking.

Diego still has a thing for Eudora, Ben decides.

Eudora, who apparently broke up with Diego last year and kicked him out of this apartment, but who still calls on him for plant-watering. Eudora, who handcuffed Diego for beating up Eddie but didn't actually arrest him.

Eudora, who has just made detective, is surrounded by the ghosts of murder victims, and is hoping Klaus might get her some case-relevant information from the other side of the veil.

Yeah, they haven't dealt with that last bit yet. But it's about to come back.

Eudora smiles a little tentatively at Klaus. "So, I was remembering how you ... _knew things_ , about Fadi Haddad. And I wondered if you might also ... _know things_ about Matt Jiang?"

She's being cagey with her language. Ben wonders if she's trying to convince herself that they're not actually talking about talking to ghosts.

Diego winces. "You want Klaus to try to conjure the missing informant for you."

Klaus shoots Diego a sharp, startled look.

"That's not something he's usually comfortable doing," Diego says, looking at Eudora regretfully. His thumb traces an arc back and forth along the rim of the chili bowl, betraying his unease.

"I just thought maybe he would have heard something," Eudora says. "Since he has those ... connections." Yes, she's definitely trying to avoid sounding like she's referring to ghosts. "I could pay you for any useful information," she adds, addressing Klaus directly. "I have a small budget now, for confidential informants."

Klaus lets out a soft despairing laugh. "Oh, well, for _money_. Historically I'll do literally _anything_ for that. Nobody's ever offered to pay me to talk to ghosts, before, though. Wouldn't you rather tie me up and fuck me with a broom handle? Twenty bucks for that. Fifteen if it's lubricated."

Diego's eyes widen. "Klaus!" he says sharply. "What the _fuck_ , man?" He turns to Eudora. "I am _so_ sorry. My brother has no sense of—"

"No, no," Eudora cuts him off, looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I was think—" She's cut off herself by the clatter of Klaus's chili bowl hitting the floor. He's just dropped it so that he can cover his ears.

Because the ghosts have started talking.

They're all talking at _once_ , each one unaware of the others. And they're all converging on Klaus, urgently telling him the details of their murders.

Diego frowns. "Klaus?" Ben can barely hear him over the cacophony of ghosts.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuuuuuck," Klaus wails, shrinking back into the couch cushions, hands clamped to the sides of his head.

"Klaus?" Diego says. "What? God _damn_ it. There's a ghost, isn't there. Is it Matt Jiang? Is he here?"

"I don't know," Klaus whimpers. His eyes are glittering with tears now. "Probably not. Is he Chinese? Then he's not here at the moment."

"He's not— but somebody else is?" Diego guesses. "Some other ghost?"

Klaus squeezes his eyes shut and nods. The ghosts are crowding him, wailing and weeping and yelling. One of them is half-way _inside_ of Dave, which Dave doesn't look too happy about, but he's not moving away from Klaus's side. "Keep your eyes closed and try to focus on my voice," he's saying to Klaus, keeping his tone calm and soothing. "You can get through this. They'll lose interest in you eventually."

And then Ben has an absolutely _startling_ flash of insight. "No!" he says. " _Don't_ ignore them! Klaus—Fadi calmed down and went away after you _talked_ to him and you _helped_ him. Remember? And the people in the forest, too—they went away after you helped them."

"I can't _help_ them!" Klaus wails. "They're dead! They were murdered! I can't _fix_ it!"

"They?" Eudora repeats. "Were murdered? Who?"

"You can help them by telling their stories to Eudora," Ben says. "She's a detective. They want her to solve their murders. Klaus, that's why they're all _here_."

Dave's eyes widen. "Oh my God, I think Ben might be right. It's worth a try, Klaus."

"How do I even—they're all talking at _once_ ," Klaus moans, shaking his head repeatedly and rocking.

Ben thinks of suggesting that Klaus let the ghosts see each other—but they saw in the forest that sustaining that effort for a large number of ghosts would cost Klaus physically. And solving the murders of—Ben quickly counts the room— _six_ people might take a while.

"Who's all talking at once?" Eudora is still struggling to follow Klaus's thought process.

"Oh hell, you're saying there's a lot of them?" Diego sweeps the empty-to-him spaces of the room with an uneasy glance.

"Klaus, just take charge," Dave urges him. "Tell the ghosts they have to wait their turn until you call on them."

"I can't I can't I can't," Klaus whimpers, huddling even further down into himself.

"Klaus, you _can_ ," Ben insists. And he thinks that he's telling the truth. Klaus is emotionally scarred and manifestly dysfunctional, sure, but he also has an amazing ability to scrape himself up off the pavement (metaphorical or literal), laugh, and keep going. Ben just has to think of how to get Klaus to tap into that inner strength while he's being terrorized by _ghosts_. "What would Madonna do?"

"M-Madonna?" Klaus repeats, startled into looking at Ben.

The non-sequitur succeeds in making most of the ghosts draw back a step or two in confusion.

"Madonna?" Eudora looks even more confused than the ghosts.

And Diego looks dismayed. "Madonna's here? Madonna's _dead_?"

"Yes!" Ben says. (To Klaus, not to Diego. Obviously.) "She must get swarmed by fans sometimes. And then what do you think she does? Does she curl up into a ball and cry?"

Klaus sniffles, and glares at Ben. Which is fair, because Ben has absolutely just insulted him. "N-no," he says, his voice gaining strength mid-syllable. "She ... she takes control of the fucking room."

"Yes!" Ben agrees, with a fist-pump.

"She takes control of the fucking room!" Klaus repeats, now glaring fiercely around at the ghosts.

And then he scrambles his boots up onto the couch and springs to his feet, balanced on the couch cushions. "Back the _fuck_ off!" he yells at the ghosts. "I'm going to talk to you ONE at at TIME. Starting with YOU—" he points at the water-bloated teenager, "—because you are by FAR the ugliest."

"What is happening here?" Eudora asks Diego, wide-eyed.

"You're getting to know my brother," Diego says. "Eudora, meet Klaus. He's pretty fucked-up and he sees ghosts. And he's not great with furniture etiquette."

Meanwhile, Klaus's gambit is _working_. The other ghosts are quieting, wide-eyed at being acknowledged. The teenager steps forward and says, "Can you tell her my name?"

"I can if you tell it to me first," Klaus says.

"Devon Thomas," the teenager says.

"Devon Thomas!" Klaus repeats, shooting an open hand out toward Eudora. "One of yours?"

Eudora blinks. "What? Who?"

"He's dead, he's following you around, he wants you to know his name."

"I don't have a vic with that name," Eudora says. "Maybe he's somebody else's case...?"

"She doesn't know my name," the teenager says. "That's why I needed you to tell her it."

"Apparently you don't know him?" Klaus informs Eudora. "But he wants you to."

"What does he look like?" Eudora asks.

Klaus wrinkles his nose. "You don't want to know."

Eudora's eyebrow twitches. "Wait ... the John Doe from the lake?"

The teenager sighs. "That's me."

"Bingo," Klaus says, and claps his hands. "Okay, can you solve his murder now? Because there's a bit of a lineup."

"I wasn't murdered," the teen says. "I got drunk and I went swimming at night and I drowned. I just want the detective to tell my mom what happened to me."

"Oooooh," Klaus says. "Cautionary tale. Shut up Ben, _I_ don't go into large bodies of water when I'm high."

"I didn't even say anything," Ben points out. "Also, I've saved you from drowning in bathtubs, like, _five times_."

"Klaus, what's the ghost actually saying?" Diego prompts. And then he turns to Eudora. "Actually—do you have a typewriter here?"

Eudora shakes herself a little. "You're right, I need to take notes," she says. "Devon Thomas, Devon Thomas..." she mutters to herself, heading out of the room.

"Are you getting a typewriter?" Diego calls after her.

"What? No, just a notebook," she calls back from around the corner.

"Do you _have_ a typewriter?" Diego repeats.

Eudora's head pops around the door frame, looking puzzled. "Sure, for filling out reports. But it's faster to take notes with a pen—"

"Bring the typewriter out here," Diego says. "Trust me on this one."

So Eudora disappears, and reappears a minute later lugging a typewriter case. She opens it up on the coffee table and loads it with a sheet of paper. Then she frowns, kneels in front of it, and types, a little slowly: **Devon Thomas drowning vic John Doe lake.**

"No, I didn't mean that _you_ had to type up your notes," Diego says. "Back up for a minute, away from the coffee table. Ben? Help us out here?"

"Huh?" Eudora says, but she does stand up and take a step back.

Ben eyes the situation. The typewriter isn't far from Klaus, but the keys are facing away from the couch; there won't be a way to touch Klaus while he's typing. "Klaus, can you come over this way?"

Klaus shakes his head, keeping his high perch on the couch. "Nope. Stayin' right up here, thank you."

Ben shrugs. And types: **Move the typewriter to the couch, please.**

Eudora shrieks.

Diego winces. "Oh, maybe I should've warned you about that."

The ghosts all look pretty surprised, too.

"How'd you do that?" Devon asks.

Klaus wiggles his fingers. "I have maaaaaany mysterious powers. Fear me."

Diego rolls his eyes and says to Eudora, "Don't listen to him. That wasn't Klaus—that was Ben."

"Oh hey but technically it _was_ me," Klaus says, sounding a little offended. "He can't do it by himself."

Diego, meanwhile, is picking up the typewriter and setting it on the couch cushions near Klaus's feet, per Ben's request. "Better?" he asks the empty air near Klaus's ankles.

Now Ben can lean against Klaus's leg while he types. **Yes,** he answers Diego's question. **Thanks, Diego. Eudora: Devon's drowning was accidental. He wants you to tell his mom.**

"What is _happening_?" Eudora demands. She's not quite losing it, but she's on the edge.

"Ben's our other brother, who died when we were seventeen," Diego says. "He haunts Klaus. He's pretty level-headed; you'll like him."

Ben gives a tight smile and types: **Nice to meet you, Eudora.**

"Diego, my typewriter is typing by _itself_ ," Eudora says, her voice rising in pitch.

"No, it's not," Diego says. "Ben's typing. He's invisible to us, but Klaus can see and hear him. And Ben can see and hear that other ghost—Devon—I guess. This is why Klaus doesn't seem to make a lot of sense sometimes. He's talking to the ghosts."

"An actual, literal, ghost." Eudora is staring wide-eyed at the typewriter.

"Yeah." Diego frowns. "Uh, wasn't that what you wanted in the first place? For Klaus to find that guy Matt Jiang's ghost for you?"

 **It's okay, I know this takes some getting used to,** Ben assures her.

Eudora's the first person he's made contact with who didn't grow up knowing that ghosts were real and that Klaus could see them.

"Hey, is she going to call my mom?" Devon asks.

 **Devon really wants you to contact his mother,** Ben types.

"How..." Eudora swallows, staring at the typewriter, and starts again; this time her voice sounds _almost_ calm and professional. "Can you provide some contact information?"

"Her name's Hestia Thomas," Devon says. "She lives in Panama City, Florida." And then he reels off a phone number.

Ben types it all out.

"This is crazy," Eudora half-mutters to herself. "This is absolutely crazy." But she goes and picks up the cordless phone from the little table over at the edge of the room, and, eyeing the paper in the typewriter, punches in eleven digits.

Ben can just barely hear the phone ringing, and a woman answering it: 'Hello?'

"Hello," Eudora says, and her voice has gone _fully_ professional. "Is this Hestia Thomas?" There's a 'Yes, who is this?', faintly heard. Eudora identifies herself, glances at Diego and Klaus, and then walks swiftly out of the room while saying, "I'm afraid I may have some bad news for you." Devon follows her.

Eudora and Devon are gone for a few minutes.

"Klaus, are you okay?" Diego asks, in the meantime, craning his neck to look up at him.

"Peachy keen," Klaus says, flashing a wavering grin. "Why do you ask?"

 **There are five other ghosts here besides Devon,** Ben types, since Klaus hasn't actually _told_ Diego what's going on yet. **We're going to try letting them all pass their messages on to Eudora.**

Eudora comes back into the room, holding the phone loosely in one hand and tugging at her hair with the other. Devon trails after her, quietly. "I can't believe I just did that," Eudora says.

"You told Hestia her kid was dead?" Diego asks.

"I told her we had reason to believe that a body found in the lake last week might be her son. I gave her instructions for sending a DNA sample." She puts the phone back in its cradle, and turns to Diego with a bereft expression. "'Reason to believe', I said. I didn't tell her that my 'reason' was a haunted typewriter. How the hell am I going to explain this back at the station?"

"You'll think of something," Diego assures her.

And then Eudora catches sight of the last thing Ben wrote. " _Five other ghosts_?!"

* * *

It takes a while to process them all.

Eventually, Eudora loses her wide-eyed look and they settle into a groove. She questions the ghosts. Ben transcribes their responses. Klaus stands on the couch, glaring around at the dead people and yelling at them if any of them try talking out of turn or moving closer to him.

The plan seems to be working, although not quite as well as Ben had originally hoped. Devon wanders away after a few minutes and disappears, seemingly content to leave Eudora alone now that his mother has been contacted. One of the gunshot victims also goes away after his interview. The others stick around, though, apparently anxious to verify Eudora's follow-through on their cases. At least they're just waiting politely, and not swarming Klaus anymore.

They finally get through the last of the ghosts' testimonies: the woman with the bruised face was a sex worker, and she was killed by a client. She followed her murderer home after he killed her, so she's able to furnish his name and address.

 **That was the last one,** Ben informs Eudora and Diego. **Time for us to go home.**

"Wait," Eudora says. "What about Matt Jiang?"

Klaus shakes his head. "He's not here. All the ghosties have had their turn."

"Yes, you said, but ... can you at least find out if he's dead?" Eudora asks. "Ask the other ghosts, maybe?"

 **Ghosts can't normally see other ghosts,** Ben clarifies for her.

"You could try conjuring him, though," Diego says, looking up at Klaus. "Right?"

Klaus used to do that. When Dad ordered him to, when information from the dead might be crucial to the success of a mission. Ben remembers Klaus begging Dad not to make him do it; Dad's implacable insistence; Klaus weeping in front of all of his siblings. They'd all been kids.

Ben kind of can't believe that Diego is suggesting it now.

Then he notices the hopeful look in Diego's eyes as he looks over from Klaus to Eudora, and the whole thing makes more sense.

Diego is desperate to impress his ex-girlfriend, and currently Klaus is the one with something she wants. So Diego is pushing for it.

From the way Klaus is looking at Diego now—and then at Eudora, and then back to Diego—Ben guesses that Klaus has figured out the score, too.

"You don't have to do it," Ben says to Klaus. "Diego will understand."

Klaus gives himself a little shake and says, "I owe him, though, don't I?"

"Owe who?" Eudora asks.

Rather than clarifying, Klaus says, "Do you have a photo of him? Of Matt?"

"Yes," Eudora says, and makes a swift exit to the other room. She comes back a moment later with a glossy 8 x 10 photo. "It's from the missing person report," she says, handing it up to Klaus.

Klaus takes it in both hands, and studies it. Dave, who's been standing next to Klaus for a while with an arm tucked around his waist, says quietly, "You sure about this, Klaus?"

Klaus nods, and hands the photo back down to Eudora. He gives Diego a quick, uneasy smile, and then closes his eyes and clenches his fists.

Blue light starts flickering around Klaus's knuckles.

Nothing seems to happen at first. And then Dave and all of the other ghosts in the room disappear, from Ben's point of view.

Which means, Ben guesses, that pretty much all of Klaus's power is going into the summoning.

Klaus's fists glow brighter.

"Is it working?" Eudora asks, sounding distinctly uneasy. Diego reaches over and takes her hand, and she lets him.

"Sometimes it does take a little while," Diego says.

And then Klaus lets out an exhausted-sounding gasp. The blue light disappears. He opens his eyes and shakes out his hands. Simultaneously, Dave and all of the other ghosts become visible again.

"Well?" Diego asks.

Klaus shakes his head. "Nope, sorry," he says. His voice is a little thin. "Either he's not dead, or he's gone into the light. Can't say which." And then his knees buckle.

Dave and Ben both try to catch him, but their hands pass right through Klaus's falling torso.

Diego lunges, but he's a little too far away. Klaus topples, accelerating with the force of gravity, and it looks like his skull is about to crack against the hard wooden edge of Eudora's coffee table.

And then, inches from contact, his fall abruptly stops.

The impossible pause lasts less than a second—Diego reaches Klaus and scoops him up, bracing Klaus against his own body in a firm hug. " _Shit_ ," Diego says. "That was close."

"Diego, what just happened?" Klaus asks.

"You fainted and I caught you," Diego says. "You're safe now."

"I did _not_ faint," Klaus protests. "I got a _little_ woozy. And you didn't catch me. Something _weird_ happened."

"Nothing weird happened," Diego says. "We can talk about it later. I think we'd better get you home—you seem pretty wiped out."

"He was falling," Eudora says. Her eyes have taken on that my-typewriter-is-typing-by-itself look again. "And then he _stopped_."

"I think Diego used his power to stop your fall," Ben points out.

"What? Diego! That's super cool!" Klaus says. "I didn't know you could do anything bigger than knives!"

"Diego?" Eudora says. "What's he talking about?"

Diego winces.

"Oh come on, you _have_ to tell her now," Klaus says. "Do you really want her to think _I'm_ the only cool sibling with a superpower?"

" _Superpower_?" Eudora repeats, staring at Diego.

Diego's jaw muscles twitch. "I—" he says, but that's all he gets out.

Klaus—still pretty much cuddled against Diego's chest, although Diego has loosened his grip by now—pats Diego's cheek and says, "Never mind, Dee-go-go, I'll handle this." He turns to Eudora. "Do you remember the Umbrella Academy?"

A look of astonishment takes over Eudora's face. "You're _those_ Hargreeves?" she manages, after a stunned pause.

Klaus holds up his left arm and pushes the sleeve of his coat down, revealing the tattoo. "Yep," he says.

Eudora stares at Diego. "Oh my God. You must be Number Two. Right?"

"He's Two, I'm Four, Ben is Six," Klaus tells her. "Even numbers, represent!"

"I had a magazine photo spread of you taped up on my bedroom _wall_ when I was twelve," Eudora says to Diego—her eyes as big as Ben has ever seen them. "Diego, why didn't you ever say anything?!"

"Probably that's why," Klaus suggests. "Anyway, none of us really like to reflect back on those shit-filled days. Oh, except for Vanya, she's writing a book about it. Maybe you can read it when it comes out!"

"Vanya?" Eudora repeats.

"N-number Seven," Diego manages to clarify.

"The one without powers?"

"No, she has powers, as it turns out!" Klaus says. "We've had a lot of excitement lately. And we're moving in with her! Diego and Ben and me, I mean. And Dave."

"Jesus, Diego," Eudora says. "When I said I felt like you were shutting me out, and you said there was nothing worth talking about—"

"Oh, is that why you broke up?" Klaus asks, blinking innocently at Diego.

"Shut _up_ , Klaus," Diego snaps.

"Jesus," Eudora repeats. "Diego ... I think I need you to leave, now. I need some time to _think_ about all this. Not to mention I have to come up with some way to write up _six_ solved cases where I got all the info from ghosts, _and_ I have to start looking for Matt Jiang again."

"Yup, sure, we'll be on our way," Klaus says. "Only you said something about paying me?"

"Right!" Eudora seems somewhat brought back to herself by the reminder. "Actually that might help with my paperwork, too—I can track each piece of info to a confidential informant payout." She disappears one more time into the other room, and comes back with six twenties. She hands them to Klaus. "Thanks for your help. Seriously."

Klaus counts the money and frowns. "There were six ghosts, _plus_ I looked for Matt for you."

Eudora gives him a wry smile. "But you didn't find him."

* * *

Leaving Eudora's building, Klaus says, "Next stop: the Copacabana."

"What, that dive bar on Eight Street?" Diego frowns. "Why?"

"It's close to here, it's two dollar shooter night, and we all desperately need a drink."

"No, we don't," Diego says.

"You clearly do," Klaus counters. "Your ex-girlfriend just found out that the reason you were so secretive and emotionally unavailable and weirdly kept your shirt on during sex is because you were an international child celebrity raised in a cult-like superhero training school. Diego, baby-Eudora _fangirled_ you! Either this gets you back in with her, or she never speaks to you again. Either way—shooters!"

"I don't drink," Diego says. "And neither do you. You're sober now."

"Oh, come on, alcohol isn't a _drug_ ," Klaus scoffs.

"Yes it absolutely is," Diego says, saving Ben the need.

"Okay, sure, but like so is caffeine," Klaus says.

Diego just shakes his head. "Not in the same league."

"Everybody drinks alcohol!" Klaus says. "It's legal! _Nice_ people drink it!"

"You're an addict, Klaus," Diego says. "You can't go there."

"But I have to," Klaus insists. "And it's my fucking money."

Diego winces. And yeah, Ben was a little worried as soon as he saw Klaus tucking those bills into his pocket. But anyway, with Diego around, Ben doesn't even need to speak up. "You don't have to, Klaus," Diego says. "That's just your addiction talking."

"Nuh uh," Klaus says. "It's my fucking fucked-up _life_ talking. Diego, I just spent an hour and a half chatting with fucking _ghosts_. I'm going to die of a heart attack before the evening's out if we don't get some calm into me. I _know_ you're not going to let me take molly or oxy or whatever. So let's just compromise on a couple of drinks, okay?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely not," Diego says. They've just reached the car. He opens the passenger-side door for Klaus, and gestures that Klaus should get in.

Klaus doesn't. He holds up his hand, fingers splayed. " _Look_ ," he commands Diego.

The way Klaus's hand is trembling, he could be an 80-year-old man with Parkinson's disease.

"Oh, jeez," Diego sighs. He takes Klaus's hand and presses his thumb into the palm of it, partly covering the 'hello' tattoo. And then he slides his other hand through the opening in Klaus's coat—Klaus never buttoned up when they were leaving Eudora's—and presses his palm flat over Klaus's sternum. "Fuck, your heart's racing like a hummingbird's," he says after a moment.

"That's what I just _said_ ," Klaus confirms, plaintively. "Diego, I'm not joking. I really feel like I'm going to die."

"Hey, are Ben and Dave still with us?" Diego asks.

Klaus nods.

"What do they say about this?"

"I'm sorry you're scared," Ben says promptly. "But it _will_ go away, I promise. You just have to ride it out. You did _so_ well back there with the ghosts, Klaus. I was so impressed."

"You're stronger than you think you are, Klaus," Dave chimes in.

"They think I don't need to drink," Klaus says. "No surprise there." He glares at both of them.

"And you should give Diego the money," Ben adds.

"Oh, come _on_ Ben," Klaus whines.

"You owe him six hundred-something bucks," Ben points out. "Remember?"

Klaus's glare gets even fiercer. But he fishes the money out of his pocket and hands it over to Diego. "And Ben says I should give you this." 

"Okay," Diego says, accepting it without question, but with a little eyebrow twitch. "Now get in the car before you fall over." He backs up his words with a gentle nudge. This time, Klaus lets himself be maneuvered. "Tell you what. No fucking way am I taking you to a bar. But I know something else that should help."

* * *

Diego takes them back to the boxing gym.

"Why are we here?" Klaus asks. "We can't fit any more stuff in your car." The four boxes from earlier are still filling up the trunk and the back seat; Dave and Ben have had to resign themselves to sitting partly _inside_ the boxes, which causes Ben psychological (although not physical) discomfort.

"I know," Diego says. "We're here to box."

"What?!" Klaus freezes. "No. I don't want to fight."

"Nah, no fighting," Diego says easily. "I'll just set you up with the bag."

Diego quickly explains the situation to Al when they get inside—well, not the whole situation, just the fact that he's brought Klaus in for a workout. In his usual gruff tone, Al okays it and gives permission for Klaus to use the equipment.

They didn't exactly come prepared, and they've just moved all of Diego's stuff _out_ of the back room. So they just strip off their boots and go barefoot. Klaus is wearing a pair of Diego's sweatpants and the AC/DC crop top. Diego's in jeans, but anyway apparently he's not planning to work out himself; he just gets one pair of gloves, and puts them on Klaus. When Klaus holds his hands up for this, Ben sees that they're still trembling. Overall, Klaus is pale and hollow-eyed, and looking very dubious about this whole situation.

"Okay," Diego says. He wraps an arm around the back of one of the suspended heavy bags, to stabilize it. "Hit the bag."

Klaus rolls his eyes and taps the bag gently with his right glove.

"Hah, fuck off," Diego says. "I know you know how to hit."

"I don't see the point of this," Klaus complains.

"The point is _endorphins_ , doofus," Diego explains. "Your body's own natural happy-drugs, and they're actually _good_ for you."

Klaus sighs, and then jabs the bag with an abrupt one-two punch, with decent form.

"There you go," Diego says, sounding pleased. "Again."

* * *

Urged on by Diego's cajoling, Klaus keeps punching the bag. Eventually, he even gets into it. He rains a flurry of blows on the bag, hard enough that even with Diego bracing it, it does jiggle a bit.

"Yes!" Diego encourages him. "That's it, keep going."

Klaus keeps harrying the bag with punches until he seems to be having trouble lifting his fists, and he starts coughing.

"Done?" Diego asks.

Klaus shakes his head, backs off a step, and sends a roundhouse kick at the bag.

"Yeah!" Diego cheers.

Klaus kicks the bag a few more times, then hits it with an elbow strike and a body slam. A couple more punches follow, into what would be its kidneys. Diego backs off to get out of the way.

Finally, Klaus sags against the bag, coughing. Even though Klaus is officially recovered from the pneumonia by now, Ben supposes this was a lot.

"Hey, okay, that's enough," Diego says, stepping in and giving Klaus a stabilizing hand. "So ... better?"

Klaus gives Diego a baleful look. "Shut up," he says. "No fucking smug I-told-you-so's."

Diego grins broadly. "I'll take that as a yes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewatched season one a while after writing this, and discovered that actually Eudora did know about Diego's child-vigilante past. LOL, oh well! Please assume that in the canon timeline, she found out sometime _after_ 2015.


	20. Chapter 20

They spend the next day moving all of Vanya's belongings upstairs.

Klaus moans about being sore from yesterday's workout, but he does his share. Ben and Dave, unfortunately, aren't really able to help. Dave sticks close by Klaus's side, chatting and joking with him; Ben just sits in a corner out of the way and intermittently reads a book whenever Klaus is in range to let him pick it up.

By supper time, the downstairs apartment is basically empty, and the upstairs apartment looks worse than the downstairs one did the night Vanya's superpower woke up.

Vanya and Klaus eat pizza on the floor. Diego skips out, saying only that he has 'something to do.'

According to the every-other-night pattern they've established, it's actually Ben's turn to be in Klaus's body for the meal. Klaus doesn't think to offer, though, and Ben doesn't ask—Klaus seems physically exhausted, and honestly Ben's not sure that jumping in for sore muscles and greasy pizza would be worth it.

They do set up the typewriter. What with all the frantic packing and moving, this is the first time Klaus and Ben have really stopped to talk to Vanya since mid-day yesterday. Ben takes the opportunity to summarize what happened at Eudora's apartment.

"Oh, Klaus," Vanya murmurs, eyes going wide. "That must have been so hard for you."

"No shit," Klaus agrees. Dave nods. He's kneeling behind Klaus, giving him a shoulder rub.

"But you're okay now?"

"Mmm." Klaus wiggles a non-committal hand. "Oh hey, but did you know that Diego could use his power to stop falling bodies?"

"What?"

Klaus nods. "I had a little tumble off the couch, and he caught me, but not with his hands."

Vanya had not, it turns out, known that Diego could do anything like that. "I wonder what his limit is. In terms of size?"

**Do you think it might be a constant depending on the mass and the velocity?** Ben suggests.

"Oh!" Vanya perks up. "I bet it's mass times velocity squared."

Dave groans. "Are you seriously trying to turn your superpowers into _math_?"

Klaus snickers. And at Vanya's puzzled look, repeats Dave's comment.

"Well, it only makes sense to try to understand our powers," Vanya points out. "They must interact with the laws of physics somehow."

"Maybe yours and Diego's do," Klaus says. "And Luther's. Mine and Allison's are more ... _meta_ physics."

"And yet!" Vanya says. She points at the typewriter. "It's easier for you when Ben manipulates objects that are closer to you. I would not be surprised at _all_ if it turns out that the difficulty increases with the square of the distance."

**The inverse square law!** Ben types, grinning. **Like light!**

"Or sound!" Vanya agrees. "If we consider Klaus's power as a point source propagating uniformly outwards—"

Klaus clamps his hands over his ears. "Nah nah nah nah I can't heeeeear yoooouuu..."

"I am having the _worst_ flashbacks to high school right now," Dave mutters.

"Dave, let's ignore them and make out," Klaus suggests.

Vanya mock-pouts. "Come on, we were having fun." And then her eyes widen—presumably because Dave has just become visible to her. "Oh, you weren't kidding."

When Klaus starts unbuttoning the top buttons of Dave's shirt (and how is that a thing? Ben protectively smooths his hand over the never-unzipped zipper of his hoodie)—Vanya clears her throat and says, "Would you two like some private time?"

Klaus's eyebrows go up, like he's just suddenly had the most delightful idea. "Dave," he says, "I have a _bedroom_! Want to go to my bedroom?"

"Uh huh," Dave murmurs, taking Klaus's hand and standing up. He's smiling quite broadly.

Vanya and Ben watch them go.

"Do you think they're actually going to..." Vanya trails off, and looks at the unmoving typewriter.

Ben wafts his hand through the keys.

Vanya laughs softly. "Oh well, never mind. Talk to you later, Ben."

* * *

A couple of hours later, the door of the new apartment bangs open without warning and Diego backs in, hauling his dresser from the gym. Holding up its other end is a dark-haired, well-built guy who looks vaguely familiar, although Ben can't place him.

Naturally, Diego and the mystery guy head straight for the bedroom that Diego will be sharing with Klaus. From which Klaus and Dave have not yet emerged.

Vanya's busy in the kitchen sorting things and putting them away, and Ben is insubstantial and invisible, so unfortunately there's nobody in a position to warn Diego to _knock_.

Taking the only route of intervention available to him, Ben zips through the closed bedroom door with a hand over his eyes. "Klaus, Dave! Are you decent?"

"Am I ever?" Klaus asks innocently.

Ben peeks.

Klaus and Dave are lying on Diego's cot. Klaus's head is pillowed on Dave's shoulder, his arm is flung over Dave's chest, and their legs are all tangled together. They're both naked.

Ben covers his eyes again. "You're about to have company. Diego and some other guy are bringing his dresser in!"

"So?" Klaus says.

But Dave chuckles and says, "Put on some _pants_ , Hargreeves!" like it's an in-joke. And Ben hears rustling fabric.

When Diego and his companion make their grunting way through the bedroom door, maneuvering the heavy piece of furniture, Klaus is just fastening up his jeans. "Hi Diego!" he says cheerfully.

Dave is standing behind him. Shaking with silent laughter, and still naked.

Klaus reaches a hand over his shoulder to cup Dave's cheek.

"Klaus don't!" Ben snaps quickly. "What if you make Dave visible?"

Klaus giggles. "Can you imagine?"

Diego gives him a funny look. "Are you okay?"

"Uh huh," Klaus says.

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

"I was ... hot."

"You sure are," Dave murmurs behind him.

The as-yet-unnamed guy shifts his grip on the dresser a little and says, "Where do you want it?"

Diego pulls his attention away from Klaus with a visible effort and nods towards the wall to his left. They get the dresser situated, and then while the other guy flexes his arms and stretches his back, Diego crosses over to Klaus in a few brisk strides and gets right up in his face. He grips Klaus's shoulders and peers intently into his eyes.

"Whaaat?" Klaus asks. "Oh my god, Diego, are you checking if I'm high? I haven't even been out of the apartment."

Diego takes a step back with a noncommittal grunt.

"Hey, so, we gonna bring up the couch now?" the other guy asks, giving Klaus a slightly uneasy look.

Klaus takes a good look at the guy for the first time, and lights up. "Diego, who is this Adonis you've brought into our bedroom?"

Diego seems a little reluctant, but he belatedly makes the introductions: "Klaus, this is Fred. Eudora's brother. He has a truck. Fred—Klaus. _My_ brother."

Oh. Eudora's brother. _That's_ why he looks vaguely familiar.

Fred holds out a hand to Klaus, the way people do. And Klaus skips over and ignores the hand and kisses Fred on both cheeks and then wraps him in a hug. "Welcome to the family!"

Fred shoots Diego a _help-me!_ look.

"Ah, Klaus, _what_?" Diego says.

Klaus lets go of Fred, beaming. And turns to Diego. "You _are_ back together with Eudora, right? Why else would her brother be helping you move?"

Diego winces. "We're _friends_."

"Okayee, if you say so," Klaus agrees, a little dubiously. But he backs off and lets Fred and Diego go back downstairs to get the couch.

* * *

Fred doesn't stick around; he gives Klaus a friendly-enough wave, pops his head into the kitchen to be introduced to Vanya, and then heads off to do whatever brother-with-a-truck things he has planned for the rest of the evening.

"Okay, I believe you that you aren't high," Diego says, as soon as he's back in the bedroom alone with Klaus. "But why were you acting so _weird_?"

Klaus has flopped onto the couch, which Fred and Diego placed against the right-hand wall. The top of his head is pressed against the side of Dave's leg; Dave is sitting upright, and wearing clothes again. He's petting Klaus's hair. "Weird how?" Klaus asks. "I think I've been reasonably in-character for me."

"Weird like half-dressed and giggling and—" Diego stops short with a look of horror. "Oh. _Jesus._ Did I almost walk in on you and Dave _fucking_?"

Klaus smiles beatifically. "I don't know why people say you aren't smart."

"Klaus, don't be an asshole to Diego," Ben chides him.

Klaus waves a hand. "Sorry, sorry."

"Thanks, Ben," Diego says.

Klaus narrows his eyes at that. "Just ... _how_?"

Diego ignores the question, presumably because he doesn't need to point out once again that he's capable of reading between the lines now that he knows that Ben's really there. "On my _cot_?" he asks Klaus, instead.

"Ummmm, where else would we have done it?"

"How did— how do—" Diego stops himself, pressing the heel of his hand to his forehead with a pained expression. "Never mind. I _don't_ want to know. I'm gonna go see if Vanya has some spare sheets. And then we can have a talk about roommate etiquette."

"If you don't want to see certain things, you shouldn't walk in without knocking!" Klaus suggests cheerfully.

Diego winces. "You're not wrong," he admits, and heads off in search of linen.

* * *

Vanya does have spare sheets. Diego comes back with a set for the cot and a set for the couch. "Here, wrap this around the couch cushions," he says, handing Klaus a fitted sheet.

"So, this is my bed, I take it?" Klaus says, following Diego's instructions.

"Until we can get you a real one, I guess. At least it's long enough for you to stretch out on."

"Yeah yeah, it's fine." Klaus finishes tucking the sheet into place, and then flops back down. "Well, look at that," he says. "I'm all moved in."

Diego snorts. "You could go help Vanya."

"She'd just complain that I'm putting everything in the wrong place."

Diego accepts that with a shrug, and goes over to the first of his four boxes. He opens it, and starts transferring its contents to his dresser. In the process, he tosses a black long-sleeved t-shirt over at Klaus. "How 'bout you cover up before you catch your death of cold. Again."

Klaus rolls his eyes. "Whatever, Mom."

Diego stands up and frowns. "Hey. I'm serious, bro. You're still too damn skinny. I can stand here looking at you and count every one of your ribs. Until you get some meat on you, you've gotta be careful."

Klaus makes a face but does shrug into the shirt. "Body positivity, Diego," he mutters when his head pops out again. "It's a thing."

"Yeah, and being healthy enough that you don't develop pneumonia the next time you catch a fucking cold is a _thing_ , too," Diego says. "Let's see if we can get you there."

"I love your body," Dave mentions, looking down fondly at Klaus from his current perch on the back of the couch. "Diego does have a point, though."

"God, I _love_ having Diego looking out for you," Ben says. Maybe not the most politic thing to say, but he's speaking his truth here. All those years of fear and frustration, helplessly watching Klaus slowly destroy himself, and now look at them—Klaus is safe, and healthy, and getting _better_ every day.

"Uuuugh," Klaus says, and covers his face with his hands. "Everybody's _ganging up_ on me."

"By which I assume you mean that Ben and Dave agree with me." Looking satisfied, Diego folds a pair of jeans and puts them in his middle drawer.

"Wanting you to be healthy isn't 'ganging up' on you, Klaus," Ben says. "Anyway, don't you feel better like this?"

"Ummm, sorta-kinda," Klaus says. "It's better than the come-downs. Doesn't hold a candle to being high, though."

Diego sends him a frown. "I don't like hearing you talk like that."

"Like what? _Obviously_ drugs make you feel good, Diego. That's why people take them."

"Thought you took them to block out the ghosts."

Klaus shrugs.

Diego puts another stack of clothing in a drawer, and then comes over and shoves Klaus's feet out of the way so he can sit at the end of the couch. "Hey," he says, making his voice gentle. "Klaus? How are you doing?"

Klaus peers suspiciously through his fingers. "Why?"

"I know that was tough for you last night at Eudora's place. You did good, though. She's, like, a _star_ at the precinct now. And thanks to you, a lot of good people are gonna get closure, and a lot of bad people are going to get what's coming to them."

Klaus shrugs. "It was Ben's idea. He thought maybe the ghosts would stop swarming me if I gave them what they wanted."

"Huh." Diego considers that. "Did it work?"

"Sure, pretty much."

Diego is quiet for a minute, but he doesn't move away. He rests a hand on Klaus's ankle and absently drums his fingers against the knobby bone. Then he asks, "Are there a lot of them around? Usually?"

"Ghosts?" Klaus lets out a faint laugh. " _Now_ you ask me?"

"When we were kids," Diego says, "I wasn't sure sometimes. If you were seeing actual ghosts or if it was just—"

"—the ones in my head," Klaus finishes. His hands are still mostly over his face. Dave's looking down on him with a concerned expression. "No, it's easy to tell really. Eyes open? Actual ghosts. Eyes closed? It's just the flashbacks."

"Like, all the time?"

"Like, now? Yeah." Klaus scrubs the heels of his hands into the hollows of his eyes and then lowers his hands, blinking. "Pretty much always. Sexy-times with Dave earlier helped me forget them for a bit. That was nice." He smiles up at Dave, and Dave returns it, but Dave's smile looks a little sad.

"Shit, man." Diego squeezes Klaus's ankle.

"Oh, you wanted to know about the _actual_ ghosts, though," Klaus says, making it into a perky subject change. Ben isn't surprised—it's pretty unusual for Klaus to refer to the ghosts-behind-his-eyes directly at all. "Happy to report, this new apartment's clean. Other than our beloved resident two, of course." He holds his hand up and begs—and gets—a high-five from each of Dave and Ben in turn.

"So are they mostly tied to places?" Diego asks. "Or people?"

"One or the other," Klaus shrugs. "Whatever they're fixated on. No offense to your totally-just-a-friend-now smokin' hot ex, but I think I'm gonna have to adore her from afar. Her fan club's a bit much for me."

"I thought you dealt with them?" Diego says.

"Well yeah, but she's a homicide detective. She's gonna pick up _more_."

Now Diego looks worried. "Can they hurt her?"

"Naaaaah. Ghosts can't do shit. C'mon, Diego, you _know_ this." Klaus lifts himself up on his elbows and shoots Dave a quick, impish grin. "You didn't notice Dave stalking you for the past year."

"You mentioned he'd been _around_ ," Diego says, warily. "What do you mean, 'stalking,' exactly?"

Klaus snickers. "Let's just say he knew about your tattoo looooong before Eudora did."

Now it's Dave's turn to cover his face. And blush. "Fuck, you didn't have to _tell_ him that," he says. "Klaus, tell him I'm sorry."

"Dave apologizes for watching you shower when he didn't know who you were," Klaus over-specifies, gleefully.

Dave lets out a little moan.

Diego makes a choking noise. At first Ben thinks he's mad or horrified, but then he realizes that Diego is trying not to _laugh_. "Okay, you know what?" Diego says, standing up. "Dave? I do not blame you for wanting an eyeful of this." He smirks. "And if you ever figure out that typewriter thing, I'd love to shoot the shit with you and get to know _you_ a little better, since you apparently know _me_ so well." And then he heads back to keep unpacking his boxes.

Klaus sits up, and tucks his knees to his chest.

Ben slides in next to him, and checks to see if he can put a hand on his shoulder. He can. "I'm glad you opened up to Diego a little," he says quietly.

Dave slides down from the back of the couch, and lands on the other side of Klaus. He rests his hand on Klaus's knee. "Is it bad right now?"

Klaus shrugs. "What's my reference for that? I've never been sober before. Not since I was a little kid." He says it quietly. Diego, over by the dresser, hesitates for a moment but apparently decides not to come back and re-join the conversation; he just keeps putting clothes in drawers, and lets Klaus talk to his ghosts.

"I know," Dave says. "You didn't think you could. When I knew you, before. You made me promise not to try to make you. When we talked about what we were going to do after the war—going clean wasn't in the cards. You said the best you could possibly do was 'high-functioning addict'."

A soft laugh bubbles out of Klaus's throat. "'High-functioning,' huh? Yeah, that'd be a step up. So future-me sold you on that one, huh?"

Dave gives him a quiet look. "You didn't sell me on anything. I understood how things were, that's all. I knew if I wanted to be with you, I had to accept what you needed to do to survive."

"Do you miss other-me?" Klaus asks. "He was probably a lot more fun than _me_ -me, huh. Since he was still riding the highs."

"I miss having those shared experiences," Dave says. "I don't miss _you_. You're right here. And just so you know, you aren't more fun when you're high."

"You really aren't," Ben has to chime in. "You're hard to talk to when you're high because you keep forgetting things, and you only want to talk about stupid shit."

"Hey," Diego says from the other side of the room. "Klaus? You got a minute?"

"Sure," Klaus says. "I was having a nice moment with Dave, but then Ben started insulting me."

Ben rolls his eyes at him.

"C'mere," Diego says.

Obediently, Klaus crosses the room and leans against Diego. He peers quizzically down at the empty bottom drawer of the dresser, which is standing open.

"I reorganized my stuff and put some in the closet," Diego says. "You can have the bottom drawer."

Klaus stares at it. "Ummmmmm, thanks? What am I supposed to do with an empty drawer?"

"Well, you know, put stuff in it. Your clothes. It's your drawer, I'm saying."

"Diego..." Klaus blinks at him. "...I don't have clothes."

"You've got that t-shirt you cut up," Diego says. "I'm not taking _that_ one back."

"I don't need a drawer for that," Klaus says. "It's either in the laundry or I'm wearing it." (It is currently in the laundry. Before Klaus disappeared into the bedroom for sex with Dave, he was wearing one of Vanya's Albuquerque School of Fine Arts t-shirts.)

"Okay, but you're going to _get_ some clothes," Diego assures Klaus.

Klaus shakes his head. "I don't _own_ things."

"What, as, like, a _philosophy_ , or...?"

Klaus shrugs. "I have nowhere to keep them."

Diego taps the drawer with his toe. "Well, now you have a drawer."

"Hm," Klaus says. "Okay."

* * *

Later in the evening, with Klaus already drifting off to sleep wrapped up in Dave's arms on the bedroom-couch, Diego wanders out to the kitchen to say good night to Vanya. On a whim, Ben follows him, even though he won't be able to make his presence known.

"Need help with anything?" Diego asks her.

"No, I'm pretty much done here." Vanya wipes her forehead, smearing some dust around. "I'll tackle the living room next time I have a day off, I guess."

"Okay, I'm going to go crash now," Diego says. "Klaus is already asleep."

Vanya lifts her head. "How's he doing?"

"Pretty wiped out," Diego says. "He did great today, though, right? Carrying all those boxes up the stairs."

"He did," Vanya agreed. "But I guess I actually meant—how's he _doing_?"

"Oh." Diego takes a breath, and leans against the counter. "Yeah, I asked _him_ that. After yesterday, with all the ghosts at Eudora's place."

Vanya nods. "Ben told me about it at dinner."

Ben has a little guilty pang about the eavesdropping—from her tone when she mentions his name, it's clear it hasn't occurred to her that he might be in the room.

But, what can he do? This is how his ghost-life works. At least he can check in with Vanya and Diego tomorrow, probably, and let them know he was here.

"He was talking about wanting drugs again," Diego says.

"Mmmm." Vanya hesitates, then asks: "Like, he might try to sneak out and get some? Or just talking about it?"

"The second one." Diego sounds pretty certain. "Last night, though, when he wanted to drink—he was really pushing for it."

"That was when you took him to the gym."

Diego nods.

Vanya fishes in one of the bottom cabinets and brings out a kettle. She fills it with water and sets it on the stove. "Do you think he's going to stay sober?"

Diego answers with a shrug. "The first time I got a call from the hospital that he'd overdosed and he had my number in his pocket, I thought: I can fix this. We're out of the house now. He doesn't have Dad breathing over his shoulder and making him talk to ghosts and telling him not to be the things that he is. I'll give him a safe place to stay, and we'll have this happy new life together, and he won't need to do drugs anymore."

Ben winces, remembering. Eighteen-year-old Diego had been so _sincere_. And kind. (And honestly a bit pompous, but Ben had felt a great feeling of kinship.)

"I don't need to ask what happened," Vanya says, a bit dryly.

Diego sighs. "Yeah, you don't."

"So your answer is 'no'?"

"I don't know. It's been, what, three weeks? That's something. He's never done that before."

"I thought he did rehab a few times?" Vanya asks. "Allison told me that she paid for it."

Diego snorts. "Yeah, if you want to sit back and enjoy some classic Klaus storytelling some night at dinner, just ask him for his top ten tips for scoring drugs in rehab." He thinks about it. "Actually, don't. Not at dinner."

"So this time is different," Vanya says.

"He's getting more control over his power," Diego points out. "That's gotta help, right? And I think he has to be sober for that, so now he has, like, incentive."

"Tea?" Vanya interjects, lifting the boiling kettle off the stove.

"Nothing with caffeine."

She nods. "Chamomile?"

"Sure." Diego watches Vanya measure loose leaves into a teapot. "I asked him about the ghosts, by the way. Whether there are a lot of them around. And he was kinda vague, but he said something about—the ones in his head? And that he sees them whenever he closes his eyes."

"Hm?"

"I think he means, like with the nightmares, and how he's scared of the dark. So, even when there aren't actual ghosts around, he's still kinda fucked up about them."

"Right." Vanya pours the tea into two mugs, and hands one to Diego. "Ben told us about this, remember? The PTSD."

"Yeah." Diego frowns down at his mug. Steam is swirling up from it. "I think what I'm saying, Van, is we might need to be in this for the long haul. Looking after him."

She gives him a bemused look. "I figured that out, thanks. Why do you think I asked you guys to move in with me?"

"Ummm.... The place was available?"

"I stopped taking Dad's pills. I'm not sleepwalking through my life anymore. And one of the things I've noticed, now that I'm awake, is that Klaus is a basket case."

Ben cringes at the flippant tone. He doesn't think she'd say it like that if she knew he was listening.

But she isn't trying to be cruel. "I couldn't see it before," she continues. "I was too locked into the idea of all of you as the real Umbrella Academy kids, and me as the pointless hanger-on. But Klaus—his power broke him."

" _Dad_ broke him," Diego corrects her.

Ben thinks they're both right.

"I'm not sure he's ever going to be able to be a fully-functioning adult," Vanya says. "Like with a job, or a place of his own."

"I didn't expect him to live to see twenty-five." Diego cradles his mug in two hands. He still hasn't drunk any of it. "Of course, I didn't know he had Ben looking out for him."

"It's funny," Vanya says. "He hates seeing ghosts, but Ben is his lifeline."

"Jesus, that day he took your pills and he couldn't see Ben anymore," Diego recalls. "It was like _he_ turned into a ghost."

Which just goes to show that Diego can't see ghosts. Ghosts don't lie around like empty shells, the way Klaus did that day.

"That was pretty bad," Vanya agrees. "Honestly, I called you to stay with him that afternoon because I was a little afraid he might try to kill himself."

Diego gives a sharp, quick frown.

"Diego..." Vanya says, " _has_ he ever? That you know of?"

Immediate head-shake. "I think all the overdoses were accidental."

If Ben could speak, he would reassure them that Klaus has never been actively suicidal. And thank God for that; it was hard enough preventing Klaus from killing himself through misadventure or indifference.

"We should ask Ben," Vanya says. "If we get a chance to talk to him alone."

"What does 'alone' mean?" Diego says. "You and him typing at each other while Klaus keeps his eyes shut?"

"I guess so." Vanya sips at her tea. "That is a little awkward, isn't it?"

"It is what it is," Diego says. "I'm just happy to have Ben back."

Ben smiles at that. "I'm happy to have you back, too," he says, just to hear it.

* * *

Later that night: another nightmare.

It's not one of the screaming nights. Klaus gasps himself awake quietly, lets out a soft, high-pitched whimper, and stuffs his fingers in his mouth to bite them.

Dave and Ben both start toward him, but after a quick measuring look, Ben backs off and lets Dave take this one.

Dave gets Klaus calmed down in a few minutes. Fingers out of the mouth, some muffled crying; Dave telling a story from Vietnam this time, about a mangy dog that wandered into their camp one day and how everybody kept sneaking it scraps of food.

Once Klaus is fully out of the nightmare, he doesn't want to go back to sleep.

"You two usually sit up all night chatting, right?" he says. Not quite whispering, but soft enough that he probably won't wake Diego. "Deal me in."

"We were reading," Ben says. Klaus had carefully piled all of their library books in the closet earlier in the day, so that Ben would have access to them at night. They're taking a little break from Dune; Ben's reading Dave _A Wizard of Earthsea_ tonight. "You want to listen? I can go back to the start if you want."

"Sure, whatever." Klaus sits up and snuggles against Dave.

So Ben flips back to the first page of his ghost-book, and reads: "The island of Gont, a single mountain that lifts its peak a mile above the storm-racked Northeast Sea, is a land famous for wizards."

A couple of chapters in, Klaus's eyelids start drooping.

A moment later, he falls through Dave.

"Shit!" he yelps, eyes suddenly wide open as he hits the couch cushions.

Across the room, Diego pops up. And looks around wildly and blindly, apparently forgetting that he was sleeping with a knit cap pulled down over his eyes.

(Neither Diego nor Vanya has spoken one word of complaint about leaving the lights on at night for Klaus. Ben loves them for it. It makes reading at night easier, too, which is a nice bonus.)

Diego swears, and tears the hat off. Blinks against the brightness, and relaxes. "You okay over there?"

"Yeah." Klaus is pushing himself upright. Dave has already blinked off the couch and is standing off to the side, presumably to avoid that uncomfortable two-people-occupying-the-same-space feeling. "Just nodded off in the middle of cuddling my ghost-boyfriend. Kinda awkward, the way he stops being solid when that happens."

"I wish I could properly hold you while you fall asleep," Dave says wistfully.

"What are you doing up, anyway?" Diego asks, at the same time.

Klaus shrugs. "Just hangin' out with my ghost peeps. Don't worry about it. Sorry I woke you."

"Klaus, tell him you had a nightmare," Ben says.

Klaus frowns at him. "What? Why?"

"Because he's your brother and your roommate and he cares about you."

Diego, watching Klaus's eyes, says: "Klaus, tell me what the ghosts are saying."

"Naaah, it's nothing important."

"You want me to go get the typewriter? Actually, fuck yes, I'm getting the typewriter."

"Okayokay, Ben just wants me to tell you that I had a nightmare earlier and that's why I'm awake." Klaus glares at Ben. "What is even the point, Ben? We all know I have nightmares. It's a very boring fact about me."

"Thanks, Ben," Diego says. "Klaus, you could've woken me up."

Klaus lets out a soft, not-funny laugh. "You want me to wake you up every night?"

"Nah," Diego says easily. "Some nights you're gonna sleep in with Vanya, right?"

And then, as Klaus stares at him, Diego crosses the room and sits next to his brother, and wraps him in a hug.

"You should've said you were cold," Diego mentions after a moment. "I know where Vanya put the extra blankets."

"I'm not cold."

"You're shaking."

"No I'm not."

Diego sighs, and hugs Klaus a little tighter. Ben watches Klaus resist it stiffly for a moment, and then give up, wilt against Diego, and stifle a sob against his shoulder.

"Okay," Diego says, and holds him while he cries.

Dave goes back to the couch and sits on Klaus's other side. He takes Klaus's loose hand and kisses the fingers.

There isn't really room for Ben to get in there too, so he sits on Diego's cot instead.

"So," Diego says when Klaus gets quiet again. "Whenever you close your eyes, huh."

"Dee-go-go, I don't know if I can do this," Klaus says in a wavering voice. "What everybody wants from me."

"What do we want from you, Klaus?"

"To be okay. To stay clean."

"Hm." Diego sighs, and rocks Klaus a little. Dave keeps hold of his hand and watches Klaus carefully, but doesn't inject himself into the conversation. "I want you to stay sober, yeah. You were a dead man walking on drugs. Anything I can do to stop you from going back there, I'm gonna do." He lets out another soft sigh. "Klaus, I _wish_ you could be okay, but I understand that you aren't. All right? You need to cry, or scream, or spend the day in bed sometimes, I'm not gonna tell you you should be sucking it up and acting normal. Please _tell_ me when your head is fucking with you."

Klaus sniffles. "Diego, my head is fucking with me."

"Yeah, okay," Diego says softly. "I got that. Anything I can do to help?"

Klaus sniffles again. "Can I sleep on the cot with you?"

Diego frowns. "Klaus, we're two grown-ass men, and it's a skinny little cot. How would we even—?"

"Never mind." Klaus tries to push himself away from Diego.

Diego holds on. "No, wait. If you think we can fit, sure. Let's just shove it up next to the couch, though, so you have someplace to roll over to if you need to stretch out after a while."

Diego does this, and then lies on the cot and lets Klaus squirm tight into his arms. Diego tugs his hat down over his eyes again and presses his forehead against the back of Klaus's head, exhaling softly. "You seriously don't mind me breathing right down your neck?"

"Nah," Klaus says. "It's good. Reminds me you're there."

"Gotcha. So hey, if you have more bad dreams, wake me up okay?" Diego sounds like he's halfway back to sleep already.

"I love you Diego," Klaus murmurs. "But not in a weird way, fyi."

Diego stifles a snort against the back of Klaus's head. "Everything about you is weird, dude. Are you holding hands with your ghost boyfriend right now, by the way?"

Klaus locks eyes with Dave, who is indeed now lying on the couch facing Klaus with their fingers intertwined. "Umm, yes, why?"

"Just don't start making out with him while we're cuddling," Diego says. "I'm not getting drawn into any fucking ghost three-ways involving my brother. Capiche?"

"Got it."

"And I love you too, weirdo."

Ben's happy for Klaus, getting the human contact that he needs. He always sleeps better when somebody is holding him, even when it's a near-stranger in dubious circumstances. A protective, living sibling is ideal for this.

But Ben's also a little jealous.

And then he realizes—maybe he doesn't have to be?

The cot is narrow, but Klaus has squished himself so tight against Diego that there's legitimately several inches clearance on either side of them.

"Hey, Klaus," he says. "Do you think I could hug Diego without hurting you, if I'm touching you at the same time?"

Klaus considers for a moment. "Yeah, I think so," he says.

"You think what?" Diego inquires sleepily. And then, in reaction to Klaus squirming forward a little on the cot, "You need more space?"

"No, come with me," Klaus says, tugging Diego's arm tighter around his chest again. "Okay, Dee-go, don't be alarmed, but Ben's gonna spoon you."

"What?"

Ben slides in behind Diego. If he had actual weight, the strip of empty cot behind Diego probably wouldn't be wide enough to comfortably support him, but as it is he's fine. He carefully reaches around Diego to grip Klaus's upper arm. His fingers meet Klaus's flesh, and at the same time, he can feel Diego's form solidifying. All of a sudden he can feel Diego's warmth, and the firm muscles of his back.

"Oh, Jesus," Diego says, startling a little. He pulls the hat up away from his eyes again and looks back over his shoulder, not that there's anything there for him to see. "Ben?"

"Klaus, ask him if this is okay."

"Ben wants to know if you're okay," Klaus informs Diego.

".... Yeah," Diego says. His voice sounds a little thick. "Hey, Ben. Welcome to the sleepover."

"He doesn't sleep," Klaus clarifies. "He'll probably hug you for a few minutes and then get bored and go back to reading his book."

"Accurate," Ben admits.

"Klaus—you're doing this?" Diego asks. "Is it going to drain you? Seriously, we don't want that nosebleed thing happening and messing up the sheets." Klaus's Che Guevara shirt was a write-off after the nosebleed that accompanied Ben's chess game with Vanya, so this is a legitimate concern.

"Pretty sure it's okay," Klaus says. "He's holding me, too. We're pretty good at this now. If you feel me start shaking, though, maybe let me know."

"Klaus ... you've been shaking this entire time."

Ben can feel that, where his fingers are gripping Klaus's arm. Just a slight trembling, as though he's a little cold.

"Have I?" Klaus asks, sounding surprised. "That's not Ben's fault."

"I know." Diego sounds faintly amused, actually. "Okay, Klaus. You've got me, Dave _and_ Ben holding you. Do you feel safe now? Can you go to sleep?"

Of course Klaus starts to cry.

Dave soothes him and strokes his face. Diego holds him tight. Ben keeps hold of his arm, and just enjoys leaning against Diego's warmth and knowing that they're all together.

And then eventually, Klaus quiets, and his breathing evens out, and a few moments later Ben's arm slips wispily through Diego's body.

Ben sits up.

Dave, still lying on the couch, looks up at him. "You okay?" he asks.

Ben nods. Gives a quiet smile. "Yeah. That was nice."

"Up for reading some more?"

"Sure." Ben heads for the closet to re-establish his ghost copy of the Le Guin book. "You want to stay over there?"

Dave gazes at Klaus's sleeping form, and makes a little motion as though to brush his cheek, but without touching. "Yeah," he says. "I'm good here."


	21. Chapter 21

The day of the move, they skipped their daily possession combat game. But the next morning, Klaus insists that they pick it up again.

They fish around in Vanya's living room boxes until they find the chess set, and set up the white queen and the bowl just like they'd been doing in the old apartment. The layout of the living room / dining nook / kitchen part of the apartment is nearly identical to what they'd had downstairs, except mirror-reversed with the fireplace on the opposite side.

Dave makes himself scarce. Vanya finds the bucket. Diego hovers close to Klaus, hands loose and ready to grab him. "You there, Ben?"

"Yes," Klaus confirms for him, and then holds up a fist. Ben fist-bumps him, and then takes a step back.

"Okay," Diego says. "Three, two, one ... go!"

Ben jumps into Klaus.

He's used to this now—the abrupt viewpoint shift where suddenly he's facing the other way; gravity tugging at him; his sense of smell reasserting itself with all its distracting associations (Diego put on Old Spice deodorant this morning to cover up the fact that he hasn't showered yet since all the furniture moving, and it reminds Ben of Luther going through puberty); Klaus's body sending him all its informational signals (Klaus is currently hungry; they've realized it's best to do these exercises _before_ breakfast, as a precaution against the potential barfing).

"Hi Ben," Diego says.

"Hi," Ben smiles at him. He walks to the table and picks up the white queen.

And he feels Klaus start to fight him.

He's tried to explain to Diego, Vanya and Dave what this feels like, but there aren't really words for it. Klaus is the only one who sort of gets it, since he's experiencing the same thing but from the opposite end.

Ben takes a couple of steps. The bowl is at the other end of the room. The coffee table is covered in open boxes right now, so Vanya put the bowl on the bay window's ledge. Ben needs to go about ten feet further than usual. That's okay. He's up for the challenge.

It's a little like ... walking through a very muddy field, maybe, wearing too-big rubber boots. You have to pull your foot hard to clear the mud, and flex your toes so that you don't leave the boot behind.

And meanwhile the actual owner of the boot is trying to shove you out of it from the inside.

Klaus almost gets him. He was tugging to the left pretty firmly, and Ben was resisting, but then all of a sudden Klaus switches and thrusts Ben to the right, and Ben's meta-momentum carries his torso clear out of Klaus. For a moment, Ben loses his sense of smell and he only feels gravity with the bottom half of his body, and if he looks to the left he can see Klaus's head.

But Ben concentrates on his legs as his anchor point, and wrenches himself fully back inside. He gasps.

Diego's hands twitch. All he's seen is Klaus (Ben) stumbling a little. "You still in there, Ben?" he asks.

"Yes," he says, and walks forward.

Klaus is regrouping, inside of him.

Klaus changes tactics. Instead of trying to push Ben out, he tries to take control of their right hand. If he can get Ben to drop the queen anywhere other than the bowl, he wins the game.

Ben grips the queen tightly. The only time this tactic ever worked for Klaus was the first time he tried it, when it took Ben by surprise. Now that Ben knows to watch for it, it's easy to use the strength of his actual muscles (Klaus's actual muscles) to overcome Klaus's ghost-like attempts to subvert the hand.

While Klaus is distracted by that, Ben walks quickly toward the window. Diego shadows him, stepping lightly like a cat, ready to catch Klaus's body if it tumbles at any moment. Vanya's not far behind with the precautionary bucket.

Klaus has won their last two practice sessions. He's currently ahead, 5-3. Ben is determined to score a victory this morning.

He always had this competitive streak when they were kids. He's never admitted it to Klaus, but Ben actually _liked_ the no-powers combat training they used to do. He could never beat Luther (whose always-on strength made him basically a brick wall for his siblings to batter themselves against) and rarely Diego, but he was pretty evenly matched with Allison, Five and Klaus. He and Allison would keep track of their scores against each other and playfully trash-talk each other. (Five would fight dirty if Ben let him know he was keeping score, and Klaus was always too miserable about the whole thing to be a fun opponent. But Allison was a great sparring partner for Ben.)

Anyway. If Ben can't possess Klaus effectively, then he loses his secret last-ditch fallback plan to stop Klaus from using again. So he takes this ghost-sparring seriously.

A couple of feet from the window, Klaus apparently realizes that he won't be able to re-establish motor control while Ben's still inside. He starts trying to push Ben out again, more frantically this time.

Ben stomps his feet back into the (metaphorical) boots, and drops the queen into the bowl.

"Five-four," Vanya says. "On the plus side, I guess we won't need the bucket?"

Klaus has stopped fighting, since the game is over. "Well, stand by just in case," Ben advises. So _far_ , the vomiting has only accompanied the times that Klaus has won the game and forcefully expelled Ben. But it's not like they have a huge number of data points. "I'm going to sit down before I go out of him."

He sits on the couch. Diego perches next to him, watching carefully. "Okay," Ben says. "See you guys at dinner, maybe." And then as gently as he possibly can, he removes himself from Klaus's body.

The careful exit can't reverse the effects of a solid minute of ghost-combat. Klaus's eyes roll up in his head, and he starts seizing.

"Yay, no puking," Vanya says, and steps back, lowering the bucket.

Meanwhile, Diego is carefully maneuvering Klaus into a lying-on-his side position on the couch. "Fuck, I hope this is worth it," he says.

Ben hugs himself and watches his brother shake and feels a little guilty.

(But Klaus asked for this. He was the one who'd reminded Ben that they'd skipped a day, that they needed to get back on track.)

* * *

Klaus is unconscious for fifteen minutes after today's seizure. Vanya and Diego take it in stride; this is, after all, becoming their usual morning routine. Diego goes for a belated shower, and Vanya cooks bacon and scrambled eggs. Ben doesn't see Dave come back—the thing Klaus does to let Ben and Dave see each other while he sleeps always seems to get reset to 'off' when Ben possesses Klaus—but when Klaus finally comes awake with a groan, Dave's already by his side. Dave looks up and makes eye contact with Ben, and gives him a bit of a glare.

"I'm doing this _for_ him," Ben points out, since he doesn't think the way Dave's looking at him is entirely justified.

"I know," Dave admits. "That doesn't mean I have to like it."

* * *

Klaus says he doesn't want breakfast. Diego, predictably, says he doesn't care if Klaus wants it, he has to eat. Vanya asks if he'd just like some fruit. Diego says that Klaus should have fruit _and_ the bacon and eggs, because he needs nutrition and all the food groups.

"Hey, Ben," Klaus says. "Easy fix. How 'bout you possess me for breakfast."

"Maybe you should just eat a little of everything," Ben suggests. "Keep Diego happy."

Klaus shakes his head glumly. "I'm so bad at fighting off possession, I might as well just get used to it."

"What? You're not bad at it," Ben says. "You're still in the lead overall. Five-four, remember?"

"I feel like I'm flailing around blindly in the dark," Klaus says. "I don't think I'm getting any _better_ at it. And you stop fighting me as soon as the game's over! If an evil ghost comes at me, they're not going to play by the rules!"

"We'll go again tomorrow," Ben reassures him. "We didn't get good at hand-to-hand combat overnight, right? It took _years_."

"Ugh." Klaus shudders. "I really hope we're not doing this for years."

"Hey? Klaus? Gonna fill us in on the other half of that conversation?" Diego reminds him.

"Seriously, Ben, just possess me," Klaus says. "You can talk to Vanya and Diego and eat scrambled eggs. I don't want to. Do it for me? Pleeeeaase?"

"Klaus, I think it's better if you eat your own breakfast," Dave says, with a little worried frown.

But Klaus is still looking pleadingly at Ben.

And Ben hasn't had scrambled eggs since he was alive. He remembers really liking them.

"Okay," he says, and steps into Klaus.

And gravity's back. The smell of the bacon is a little overwhelming.

"What's happening?" Vanya asks. "Klaus? Ben?"

"Ben," Ben tells her.

"So this is how we get Klaus to eat, now?" Diego asks. He shrugs. "Okay, works for me."

Vanya looks slightly troubled, but she just asks, "So am I serving you eggs and bacon or not?"

Ben takes stock of the body he's in. "He's ... kind of nauseous, actually."

Vanya's eyebrow twitches. "Should I go get the bucket?"

"No, it's not that bad," Ben says. "He's a little nauseous and he has a headache." It's like a tight, throbbing band around his skull. "He was hungry before we did the possession training, though. So I think I should start eating and see if it gets better."

"Do you think coffee might help with the headache? Or juice?" Vanya suggests.

"I'll try them both," Ben says. "And, maybe an aspirin?"

* * *

After breakfast, Vanya heads off looking cheerful, saying something about rehearsing with the other violins. Ben stays in Klaus long enough to give her a hug goodbye, and then steps out gently so that Klaus can hug her too.

"Sooooo," Diego says, looking at Klaus. "I guess you're coming to the gym with me."

"Am I?"

"Uh huh. How's the headache, by the way?"

"Oh, it's fine. Don't even listen to Ben about that stuff, he's a real whiner."

Ben snorts. "How am _I_ a whiner for telling Vanya and Diego that _you_ have a headache?"

"Well, it was _your_ headache when you told them about it."

"And it's gone now—you're welcome." Actually Ben's glad that he was able to return Klaus's body in better shape than he received it. It assuages his slight pangs of guilt over hurting Klaus via the possession combat.

Diego's watching Klaus with a bemused expression. "You guys have the weirdest arguments."

* * *

At the gym, Diego runs through his cleaning and equipment-maintenance tasks while Klaus sits cross-legged in a corner next to a stack of books. Ben's almost done reading _A Wizard of Earthsea_ to Dave, and they brought along a few options because they haven't decided what to read next.

To the other gym patrons, Ben knows, it looks like Klaus is staring into space, occasionally giggling for no reason or talking softly to himself. That's okay. Any time anybody starts giving Klaus the side-eye, Diego finds an excuse to get close and identify Klaus as his brother, with an expression of fierce protectiveness.

The ghost of the boxer is present too, but he's paying no attention to Klaus and Klaus is managing to mostly ignore him.

After a while, Diego approaches Klaus and says, "C'mon to the locker room now and get changed. We're going to do a workout."

"We're _what_ now?" Klaus says, with an expression of pure incomprehension.

"Exercise," Diego says, as though all Klaus needs is a synonym or two. He reaches down and gives Klaus a hand up to his feet—which Klaus accepts, dubiously.

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Because it's good for you," Diego says, with perfect, innocent sincerity.

The look Klaus returns is performatively blank.

"Go along with it," Ben advises. "It's the path of least resistance."

"But why would I want to get sweaty and out of breath and sore when I could just sit here and wait for you?" Klaus asks Diego. There's an edge of whine in his voice.

"Klaus." Diego's still holding Klaus's hand, from when he pulled him to his feet. He keeps hold of it and steps closer to Klaus, lowering his voice so that there's no chance of anybody else overhearing (other than Ben, of course, who has no obligation or compunction to respect their personal space; even Dave is hanging back a little, over by the books, just watching to see how this plays out). "Bro, I know you're struggling," Diego says. "This is something that might actually help. I've talked to Al about it. You wouldn't be the only guy here in recovery."

Now Klaus looks rebellious and cranky. "Is there a pamphlet to go with this pep talk?"

Ben doesn't know where Diego is drawing his calm from, but it's a deep well this morning. "No pamphlet," Diego says, as though it had been a reasonable and sincere question. "Just you and me, and the weights and the bags. You gotta change your relationship with your body, Klaus."

"It's not my _body_ that's the problem," Klaus mutters.

"So why do you treat it like shit, then?"

"Oh, zing," Ben says into the empty space of Klaus's responding silence.

* * *

It turns out Diego was planning this all along; he brought along a change of clothes for both himself and Klaus. All of the clothes are of course Diego's; the pants he selected for Klaus have a drawstring, which can be cinched tight and tied so they don't slip down his hips.

"Warm up," Diego says, handing Klaus a skipping rope.

Klaus stares at it like it's a dead snake.

"C'mon," Diego coaxes. Grabbing a second rope for himself, he steps back a safe distance and starts skipping. "Get your blood flowing!"

Klaus sighs, and flicks his rope into action.

Of course Klaus knows _how_ to skip. It was one of their cardio workouts back at the Academy. He manages about twenty skips before his feet get tangled in the rope.

"It's fine, just pick it up and keep going," Diego encourages him. Diego's rope, meanwhile, makes a steady tick-tick-tick against the floor.

"Yeah, no, I'm done," Klaus says.

"Okay, forget the warm-up," Diego concedes, putting his own rope down. "Get in the ring with me."

"What? No."

This time, when Diego takes Klaus's hand and tries to tug him along, Klaus resists.

So Diego tugs harder.

"Noooooo," Klaus moans, as he's dragged along. "I don't want to fight you, Diego. I already had to fight Ben today."

"That was a whole different thing," Diego points out. "This will be fun! I'm not going to go hard on you, don't worry." He shoves Klaus gently through the ropes at the side of the currently-empty ring.

Klaus catches Ben's eye. _Possess me,_ he mouths.

"Wait, what? You want me to jump in and fight Diego for you?"

Klaus nods quickly, giving Ben a pleading look. Diego has stepped back from Klaus and raised his hands. His feet have shifted into an easy combat stance. "No hard contact," Diego says. "Throws are okay but nothing that's gonna cause damage, got it? This is just for the exercise."

Ben thinks about it for a second.

If he possesses Klaus, Klaus will still get the workout, right? It's like when Ben ate breakfast for him. It's a purely physical thing. What's important is that Klaus's body gets the exercise.

Ben enjoys sparring, and Klaus doesn't. Jumping in would just be an optimal distribution of labor.

"Okay, I'll do it," Ben says. "Are we gonna tell Diego?"

Tiny head shake.

"Hey, uh," Dave says from over at the side of the ring. "Maybe it's not a—"

But then Ben's inside Klaus, and he can't hear Dave anymore.

And there's no time to think about anything else, because Diego's fist is coming at him.

Ben ducks back, getting out of range. He tries responding with a sweep, to catch Diego off balance while he's got forward momentum. It doesn't work, but Diego grins at him encouragingly.

They move around each other, jabbing playfully, throwing in a few kicks here and there. Any strike that gets through the opponent's guard is pulled up short, to do no more than tap. Ben's getting tapped a lot more than Diego is, but that's okay. There's no point in keeping score; there's no question that Diego could beat Ben-in-Klaus's-body hands down if they went at it for real. Diego isn't going all-out, even with the light touch; he's hanging back, giving Ben (Klaus) openings on purpose.

It's been nine years since Ben trained, and it wasn't in this body. The muscle memory is sort of there, but it's mushy. And frankly, Klaus is in terrible shape. In under a minute his lungs are burning, and the residual coughing from the recent pneumonia kicks in.

"You need to take a breather?" Diego asks, not lowering his guard.

Ben shakes his head. "Just take it down another notch."

So they circle each other and make occasional attacks, not very aggressively. Light taps.

The blood is singing in Ben's (Klaus's) veins. For all that the exhaustion pulls at him, this is the most visceral embodied experience he's had since he started possessing Klaus, and he's loving it.

Diego catches at Ben's arm, and Ben tries twisting in a way that should pull Diego off balance and throw him. It doesn't work; it was the right move, but Diego has too much advantage of strength and mass. In a moment, Diego flips it around on him and Ben feels himself flying.

He lands flat on his back; it's jarring, but not painful. Diego follows through, pinning him. Ben doesn't even try to fight his way out of it. He just lies there, chest heaving. "Okay," he gasps. "That was fun."

"Sure was," Diego says happily. "Catch your breath. Next round, I want to go with Klaus."

Ben feels a little adrenaline jolt and his stomach lurches at being caught out. Even though—why should he feel guilty? He and Klaus can trade off if they want to.

"Um, what?" he tries, in case it was a bluff on Diego's part.

But Diego rolls his eyes. "Come on, Ben. You think I don't know the difference between the way you fight, and the way Klaus fights?"

Okay, no point trying to deny it. Since Diego has released his hold, Ben curls up into a sitting position. He has a nasty stitch in his side, and his lungs still want to cough. He indulges them a little. "God, Klaus is in bad shape," he says at the end of it.

"No shit," Diego agrees. "Probably got a smoker's cough on top of everything else."

"Yeah, probably," Ben agrees. He's not sorry that Diego's managed to enforce a no-smoking rule on Klaus so far. Compared to the, oh for instance, _heroin_ , the cigarettes never seemed like such a big deal, but Ben would still rather not see Klaus die of lung cancer at age fifty.

(Klaus possibly still alive at age fifty? That's a thought Ben hasn't allowed himself in a long time. Wow.) 

"So, not that I have any objection to your company," Diego says, "but what the hell are you doing in Klaus's body right now, Ben?"

"He didn't want to fight you," Ben says.

"Uh huh." Diego looks unimpressed. "Yeah, he said so. Klaus doesn't want to do _lots_ of things that are good for him. Why'd you go along with it?"

"I _liked_ the hand-to-hand training when we were kids," Ben says. Did Diego ever know that about him? He's not even sure. "Klaus hated it. So I figured—I get to enjoy sparring with you, and Klaus still gets the exercise. Win-win."

Diego frowns. "It's not just the exercise. We've gotta find ways to help him get out of that freaked-out headspace he has. Ways _other_ than drugs, 'cause that's all he knows right now."

And now Ben feels guilty, because Diego's right about that. But Diego's also _wrong_ in at least one important way. "I see your point," Ben concedes. "But ... it can't be fighting. Diego, he's not going to warm up to it. He really, really hates violence."

"It's not _real_ violence, though," Diego says.

"I know," Ben says. He absolutely does. They both know what real violence is. (Knives through arteries and tentacles breaking spines. Klaus would sit it out, and see the ghosts afterwards.) "And he _does_ fight, sometimes, when he gets in trouble. But it's really upsetting for him."

"The other night, though, it helped him," Diego says. "When he was bugging out about all the ghosts at Eudora's place."

"Okay, yeah," Ben agrees. "That was just at the bag, though."

"We can work with that," Diego says. "Klaus? I know you're in there listening. Sorry I tried to push you too hard too fast, buddy. Next time it'll just be you versus the bag. I promise, it'll be worth it. It'll make you feel better."

Ben suspects that's his cue to exit. "I'm going to step out and leave you with Klaus now," he says. "But—thanks, Diego. I really enjoyed fighting with you."

Diego smiles, and clasps his forearm. "Any time, bro."

And then Ben is ... out.

He sees Klaus sitting on the canvas, looking up at Diego with a subdued expression. His arm is still locked with Diego's, of course (only now it's _his_ arm, not Ben's). Diego tugs him to a standing position.

"You doing okay?" Diego asks. "Maybe you wanna get some water, and then do some time on the bag?"

"Diego, whaaaat have I ever said to make you think I want to be your workout buddy?" Klaus asks, plaintively.

"There's a serious answer to that question, but I don't think you want to hear it," Diego says, and gives Klaus's shoulder a manly thump. "Put it this way: Vanya's got a full-time gig now, so you're gonna be coming here with me every day anyway. Might as well make the most of it."

Whatever retort Klaus might have made is lost—because that's when the ghost of the boxer suddenly decides to get involved.

Ben hadn't been able to see the boxer while he was in Klaus, so he doesn't know how long the ghost has been lurking close by, in the corner of the ring. He wasn't there when Ben stepped _into_ Klaus.

Now the boxer dances towards Klaus, his red boxing gloves up at the ready. Klaus's eyes widen, and he takes a step back. "Oh, shit, no I don't want to fight _you_ ," he says.

"Huh?" Diego says, automatically glancing at the empty-to-him space that Klaus is addressing. "Ben wants a round with you now?"

"Not Ben," Klaus clarifies, ducking behind Diego.

The boxer does a quick jab with his right fist. It goes straight through Diego's head _and_ Klaus's, meeting no resistance.

"Fuck!" Klaus yelps, and buries his face against the back of Diego's neck.

"Klaus, what is happening?" Diego asks, trying to turn around but prevented by Klaus's clinging grip.

The boxer scowls, and bangs his gloved fists together under his chin. He glares.

And then he lunges his whole body right through Diego and into Klaus.

_Into_ Klaus.

Oh _fuck_.

"Klaus!" Dave yells, sounding panicked. Immediately after that, he disappears from Ben's vision.

Klaus's eyes (not Klaus's eyes?) open wide and he staggers back from Diego.

"Klaus?" Diego says, turning around and giving his brother a puzzled look.

And then the boxer tumbles sideways out of Klaus.

Dave is back. "Oh my God, Klaus," he gasps, and is instantly at his side, hugging him. "You did it!"

Ben looks at Klaus, and at the boxer.

The boxer is on the canvas, staring dumbly up at Klaus.

Klaus is staring back at the boxer, looking terrified.

But he just fought off a hostile possession. And he's not barfing or having a seizure. This is huge.

Dave lets go of Klaus and steps back. "Klaus, you've got to finish this," he says. "Don't show him you're afraid of him. Make him think he has to be afraid of you."

Klaus stays frozen for another long second, but then he jerks his body towards the boxer and bares his teeth. "Try that again," he says. "See if I rip you to shreds this time. You want to go into the light as a scrambled jigsaw with eight pieces missing?"

Diego looks thoroughly alarmed now. "Klaus? Talk to me, buddy."

Klaus makes a V with his pointer and middle finger, points at his eyes and then at the boxer's. "Watching you," he says. And starts backing out of the ring, not breaking eye contact with the boxer.

"Okay, we're going," Diego says, mainly to himself, and follows Klaus.

Klaus keeps his glare fixed on the ghost, walking backwards out of the gym. Diego rolls with it, darting around to redirect Klaus with a gentle shove before he backs into Al's reception desk.

It isn't until they're on the sidewalk out front of the gym that Diego tries asking again: "What the _hell_ is going on, Klaus?"

"Sooo, turns out maybe it wasn't such a good idea to have Ben possess me in front of another ghost," Klaus says. He hugs himself and shivers; he's wearing a sweat-damp t-shirt, and here they are out in the (presumably) cold December wind.

"Oh, shit," Diego says. "Somebody else tried to possess you?"

"Succeeded," Klaus says. "But not for very long."

"Klaus, you fought him off like it was _nothing_ ," Ben points out. "That was _great_!"

"I d-did, d-didn't I?" Klaus says. Ben tries to guess: are his teeth chattering from residual fear, a belated physical effect of the possession, or only from the cold?

"You what?" Diego asks.

"F-fought h-him off."

"Yeah, well, all that training with Ben paid off, I guess," Diego says.

Klaus blinks. "B-but I w-wasn't g-getting b-better."

"Yes you were," Dave says. Realizes. "But so was Ben."

Oooooh.

* * *

Diego gets Klaus to wait in his car with the engine going and the heater on while Diego goes back into the gym to collect their street clothes, coats, and boots.

"Holy shit," Klaus says. "Diego just left me unsupervised. I could bounce."

"I could stop you," Ben says mildly.

Klaus gives him an appalled look. "Jesus, Ben! I just said that I _could_ , not that I'm _going to_."

"Likewise," Ben points out. And then asks, with a little trepidation: "You don't actually _want_ to leave, do you?"

"Nah." Klaus squirms a little in his seat (he's in the front, while Ben and Dave are in the back) and rubs his bare arms. "It's cold out there."

Ben leans back, watching Klaus. "Is that the only reason?" Maybe he shouldn't push—isn't it enough that Klaus is waiting peacefully in the car, and not dashing out to find the nearest dealer?—but he wants to _know_. Has Klaus made any progress, really? "If it were warmer outside, would you be heading out to get high?"

"Mmmm, no," Klaus admits. "Things are good right now, I know, okay? With Diego and Vanya. I think I'm probably going to fuck it up, but ... not today."

_Still_ not able to leave well-enough alone, Ben feels compelled to challenge Klaus's last statement: "Why would you assume that you're going to fuck up, Klaus? You're doing great. You've got this."

Klaus lolls his head against the head-rest and looks sideways at Ben. "Oh, Benny. When have I _ever_ not fucked up? Name one time."

Caught out, Ben frantically searches his memory for some reassuring tidbit to share with Klaus. Damn it, there must be _something_...

"In Vietnam," Dave says promptly. "When the squad needed you, you were there. Without fail."

Klaus frowns. "That doesn't sound like me."

"Well, it _was_ you," Dave assures him.

Ben gives Klaus a triumphant look. "There you go! You've got it in you."

Klaus wrinkles his nose at Dave, still doubtful. "You're sure you're not just seeing me through rose-colored love glasses that make all my horrible faults seem strangely adorable?"

"You _are_ adorable," Dave asserts with a little snort of laughter. "But give me some credit, Hargreeves. I didn't _just_ fall for your pretty face. Once you settled into the reality of the war, and got to know the guys on the squad, you were a _fierce_ protector."

"Moi?" Klaus inquires with an eyebrow twitch, dubious.

"Okay, for instance: nobody got bullied around you. You had this wild way of defusing the situation and leaving the would-be bully half confused, half terrified."

"Hmm, I guess I could probably throw a bunch of overly macho 1960s soldier-boys for a loop if I wanted to," Klaus muses. "Is that an example of me not being a fuck-up, though? Or is it just an example of me being one and using it to my advantage?"

"Okay, how about this," Dave says. "You couldn't actually _stop_ using drugs while we were out there. Never mind whether you had it in you or not—the withdrawal would have been too dangerous. But when you needed to sober up enough to pull your weight on a mission, you did. And—this one's big—there were some times when you abstained long enough to let the ghosts through _on purpose_ , when we were moving through a dangerous area and any bit of intel might keep us alive."

"Oh!" Ben interjects. Now that Dave has prompted his memory, he's finally come up with an example of Klaus not-fucking-up from their own, actually-lived history. "Remember that time Diego was captured by the Russian mob?"

"Oh, that," Klaus says. "Yeah."

Dave looks appalled. "Diego was _what?_ "

"We were seventeen," Ben tells him. "The year that I died, but—a while before that. Dad was pitting us against organized crime and making a whole big media circus of it. The mob was pissed off, obviously. During one of the, uh, confrontations, they managed to snatch Diego. Only we didn't notice, in the heat of the moment, and afterward there was nobody, um, _alive_ left to question about where they'd taken him." Ben doesn't remember the specifics. One blood-soaked victory bleeds into another in his memory. He does remember Allison yelling at him and Luther for killing everybody, frantic with frustration at how _easily_ she could've found out what they needed to know, if only even one mobster had still been breathing.

Ben remembers being hurt and irate at her haranguing. It wasn't like the tentacle-monster in his belly gave him an option to use non-lethal force. If they didn't want everybody dead, they shouldn't make him come on missions.

Anyway.

"Klaus was ... home sick, that day," Ben goes on—falling automatically and without thinking back into the euphemism they'd all used at the time.

"Drunk," Klaus supplies without apparent embarrassment. "I was drunk. Or, high? No, I think I was just drunk."

"When we told him what happened," Ben explains to Dave, "he locked himself in the second-floor bathroom. And stayed there for seven hours. We could hear him puking, sobbing, yelling." Two hours in, Ben had begged Luther to break down the door. Luther had not so much refused as just ignored him, too busy poring over all the intel Dad had collected on the mob, trying to narrow down where Diego might have been taken. So Ben had gone back to the hallway outside the bathroom and sat there with his ear pressed to the bathroom door, keeping vigil and assuring himself that if he heard any sign that Klaus was in imminent danger, Ben _would_ manage to convince Luther to intervene. "At the end of seven hours, he came out and told us where Diego was."

"How is this an example of me _not_ fucking up?" Klaus asks. "If I hadn't been drunk in the first place, we could've rescued him seven hours earlier."

"You got sober and you summoned hostile ghosts and you made them talk to you," Ben points out. "Which I know was incredibly hard for you. And you did it to save Diego." Klaus had gone along with them on the rescue mission, pale and shaking. He wasn't much help, but he didn't get in the way. When they got home afterward Klaus went straight to his room, and by the time Ben went to check on him twenty minutes later he was passed out on his bed next to an empty bottle of vodka.

"I think," Dave says, "I maybe see the problem here."

"Me?" Klaus says. "The problem is me? That wasn't hard to spot."

Dave shakes his head. "The problem is that this time, we're asking you to take care of _yourself_. Not somebody else."

Klaus looks momentarily stricken. But then he laughs it off. "That's silly, Davey-poo," he says. (Ben manages to suppress a snort at the nickname.) "If there's one thing that everybody who's known me for more than a day can agree on, it's that I'm fundamentally and irredeemably selfish."

"You've been really shitty to a lot of people," Ben agrees, thinking mostly of the unending string of petty thefts. (But also of the cutting words Klaus tends to employ against anyone who makes him feel vulnerable, which might even be worse.) "But I can't imagine you treating anyone else as badly as you treat yourself."

"Oh fuck Ben, are you back on the stop-killing-yourself-with-drugs refrain _again_? You've _won_ that battle. I'm clean now!"

"I know," Ben says. "But you keep saying things about how you don't think you can keep it up, and I worry. Especially when you phrase it like that— _I've_ won the battle. Like this is about me. Klaus, I want you to not want to hurt yourself."

Klaus scootches down in his seat and tucks his knees up to his chest. He plants his feet (clad in battered sneakers plucked from the gym's lost-and-found bin) up on the dashboard in front of him. "I _don't_ want to hurt myself," he mutters into his knees. "Fuck, Ben, you know that. I just never had any other way to deal with the ghosts."

"And now you do," Ben reminds him. "You can negotiate with them. You can turn them off, for a little while, if you concentrate on it. And you've just proved that you can fight off possession!"

"That takes care of the eyes-open ghosts," Klaus says flatly.

Okay. This other bit is delicate. Klaus does not like addressing the fact of his PTSD directly. "I don't know how to get rid the eyes-closed ghosts," Ben says, using Klaus's pet terminology instead of 'your frequent debilitating PTSD-flashbacks.' "But the drugs never actually blocked those anyway, did they?"

"Sorta-kinda-sometimes," Klaus says.

"I think you should give Diego's idea a fair try," Ben says. "Doing the workouts with him. It really might help." Klaus may have very determinedly tuned out all of the counseling sessions he'd had to sit through in rehab, but Ben had paid attention.

Klaus does a kind of full-body shudder and rearranges himself, feet back on floor of the car and his arms folded on the dashboard. He lets his head thud down against his arms. "Mmm, okay, okay," he says. "I'll try it."

"Great," Ben says, pleased that he actually managed to wrangle that promise out of Klaus.

"As long as you promise to jump in and take over if Diego decides I should fight him again."

"Deal," Ben agrees immediately. Win-win, right?

"Um," Dave says. "Guys? Could we maybe talk about this? The possession thing?"

"Don't worry," Klaus says. "Turns out that boxer is really easy to fight off. Ironic, huh? Man, I bet he's steaming in there. Maybe he'll go into the light out of embarrassment."

"That's not actually what I was going to bring up," Dave says. "Ah. Look. I know that I don't have a lot of standing here. From your point of view, you've only known me for a few weeks. And I've been trying to mind my own business. But ... Klaus, I'm really not comfortable with how often you're inviting Ben to possess you."

Ben feels immediately defensive, and he's about to say something, but Klaus gets in there first with a cranky: "No, you're right, it is none of your business."

"Okay," Dave says, and looks away out the window. There's an awkward silence in the car for maybe half a minute. And then Dave says, "It just seems like you're using it as a way to avoid certain aspects of your life, and I'm not sure that's a great precedent to set up."

"I don't do it every time he asks me to," Ben points out.

"Uh huh, I know," Dave says. "But you've done it twice already today."

"Yeah, but it made sense," Ben says. "I like sparring, and he doesn't. And he needed to eat breakfast but he didn't feel well enough to after the possession training."

Dave shakes his head. "How does that follow, though? You inherited his nausea when you took over his body, and _you_ ate the breakfast."

"Well, I—" _am more dedicated to looking after Klaus's body than he is_ was the end of that sentence, but Ben realizes as the words are forming in his mouth that if he says that, he'll just be making Dave's point for him. "—enjoy eating more than Klaus does," he pivots. "I missed it, for the past nine years."

And maybe that wasn't actually better. Dave frowns. "Ben, we're dead," he says. "I'm sorry, it sucks, but it's a fact. Klaus is still alive, and you shouldn't be taking over and living his life _for_ him."

Okay, that stings. Especially because Ben knows that Dave is right; he's known it from the very beginning. That's _why_ Ben refuses to jump in half the time when Klaus asks him to, _even though_ Ben loves every moment he can get of being physically in the world and interacting directly with Vanya and Diego. "Maybe you're just upset about having me in your boyfriend's body," Ben suggests, snippishly.

"It's a little disturbing, yes," Dave admits freely. "But I know it's a really important gift that he's giving you, when he lets you share dinner with Vanya and Diego. I'm happy for him that he can offer you that and for you that you can receive it. I _want_ you both to be happy. I just don't want Klaus to _disappear_."

"I won't!" Klaus says. "I don't. When Ben takes over, I'm still _there_. It's just like ... a peaceful, not-scary dream where I can't do anything."

Ben sighs. "Dave's right. We should cut back."

Klaus's eyes widen. "What the hell? How are you suddenly on his side?"

"You just made getting possessed sound like shooting up."

Klaus snorts. "Oh my god, Ben, don't flatter yourself. It doesn't feel _that_ good."

"Klaus ... are you mad at me now?" Dave asks. He sounds worried.

"Ummm, let me think about it for a minute," Klaus says. And then he _does_ ; he frowns, and taps his fingers on the dashboard, and hums a little. And then finally he says, "No. You like me, and you prefer when my body is me. I guess that's okay."

"Good." Dave sinks back in his seat, looking fairly relieved.

And then the driver-side door opens, and Diego slides into the car. He tosses his gym bag into the back seat—innocent of the fact that it nearly goes through Ben's head—and hands Klaus's pink-and-purple wool coat to him. "Sorry, that took longer than I thought it would," Diego says. "I ended up telling Al about the ghost. He thinks he knows who it is. He'd like to talk to you about him, if you're up for it, next time he sees you."

Klaus blinks in surprise. "He just believed you right away?"

"Al figured out who you are," Diego says. "He knows who _I_ am. He's the one who always helped me put my gloves on before fights, and wrapped up my wrists so nobody else would see the tattoo." He puts the car in gear, and pulls out onto the road. "Hey, thanks for not stealing my car," he adds.

Klaus lets out a sharp laugh and bangs his head back against the seat back. "The engine was running the whole time!"

"That's funny?" Diego asks.

"Oh, I had this whole big talk with Ben and Dave about how it was too cold outside to run away and get high. I didn't even think of taking the car."

A muscle in Diego's jaw twitches. "Oh?"

"Yeah, don't worry, they gave me another pep talk, and the consensus was that if I could sober up and talk to ghosts to save you from the Russian mob, I can keep not-taking-drugs today."

Diego's eyes go up to the rear-view mirror, and Ben is momentarily convinced that he's looking pleadingly at the back seat for an explanation.

But anyway, Diego has a lifetime of experience with rolling with Klaus's twisty trains of thought. "Okay," he says. "Glad to hear it. Gracias, by the way."

"For what?"

"For saving me from the Russian mob." Diego grins. "So, hey. I was thinking. How about we go to Goodwill and get you some clothes to put in that empty drawer of yours?"

"Oh _fuck_ yeah," Klaus says, perking up. "What's the plan? You distract the clerk while I make a run for it?"

"What?! Jesus, Klaus. It's the _Goodwill_. A shirt costs four bucks."

"I have zero bucks," Klaus points out. "And aren't you, like, super poor too?"

"Nah. I'm flush." Diego shoots a grin at Klaus. "Somebody just paid me back a hundred twenty bucks I never expected to see again."

Klaus looks confused for a moment, and then a beaming smile breaks through. "Aw, Diego! You're my favorite non-dead brother!"

Diego snorts. "I sure hope so."


	22. Chapter 22

There's a pawn shop next to the Goodwill, with a big plate glass window (behind security bars, of course).

On the short path from Diego's car to the front door of the Goodwill, Klaus somehow veers right and ends up in front of the pawn shop window.

"What's up?" Diego asks, joining him.

Klaus points at the window. "Can I get that instead of five shirts?"

There's an acoustic guitar on display. Price tag: $20.

Diego blinks. "What? What do you want a guitar for?"

"C'mon, Diego," Klaus wheedles. "I need something to do with my hands besides taking drugs, right?"

"Oh, that's some high-quality emotional manipulation there," Ben murmurs.

"Do you even play the guitar?" Dave asks.

"I play a little," Klaus says.

"Uh, this shop is super sketch," Diego says, giving its graffiti-spattered facade a doubtful glance.

"Sure, I know, I've sold stolen shit here loads of times," Klaus says. He grabs Diego's hand and tries to tug him toward the door. "C'mon!"

Diego tugs back, and easily drags Klaus in the opposite direction. "Maybe the Goodwill will have a guitar," he says. "It might even be cheaper!"

* * *

There is no guitar for sale at the Goodwill today.

Klaus is effectively distracted, though, by the promise of clothes.

And better yet, by the prospect of _trying on_ clothes, and showing them off to his entire entourage.

Diego is fairly patient. He stands outside the little change booth, arms crossed, and makes noncommittal noises whenever Klaus emerges with a new outfit to display.

Dave goes _into_ the change booth with Klaus, which probably does not speed things up.

Ben nabs a ghost-copy of _A Brief History of Time_ from the used books shelf. Turns out it's not about time travel. It's still interesting, though.

The shopping takes a solid three hours. Klaus acquires two bags full of clothes that fit him, in levels of flamboyant varying from slightly to a lot. At some point in the middle of it all, Dave changes his clothes too. He trades in his blue disco outfit for slim-fit jeans and a navy blazer over a white cotton shirt. From the ankles on up, it's pretty generic and masculine. But he's paired it with pink suede oxfords.

"Nice," Ben smiles.

"Right?" Klaus says, and kisses Dave's cheek.

A woman, walking by with a shopping cart, shrieks.

"Oh, oops, we just caught a flicker of Dave there," Diego says. "Yeah, let's pay and get gone."

Dave laughs, and breaks away from Klaus. "You've _got_ to learn to control that, honey."

* * *

Three hours of clothes-shopping did not make Klaus forget about the guitar. As soon as they exit the Goodwill, he takes a sharp left turn, skips a couple of steps, and dashes into the pawn shop.

Diego (laden down with Klaus's new clothes) sighs, and follows him.

Inside, Klaus looks like he's about to climb up into the window display to get to the guitar.

"Maybe ask the shopkeeper to get that down for you?" Ben suggests.

Klaus rolls his eyes at Ben, but follows his advice.

Diego, meanwhile, is making a slow circuit around the cluttered shop, running his skeptical-looking gaze across all the wares.

And then all of a sudden his eyebrows shoot up. "Oh my God," he murmurs, pulling what looks like a slightly complicated boxy black radio off the shelf. "Is this for real?"

Behind Ben, there's the sound of a guitar being strummed, open-stringed. Ben turns and sees Klaus holding the guitar from the window, looking very pleased. "Check it out, Ben!" he says. "I'm gonna be a rock star."

Dave is looking amused, but also smitten. "That sounds pretty hot," he murmurs.

Diego, meanwhile, is approaching the checkout with the radio-thing in his hands. "Get over here, Klaus," he says. "I'll buy you the fucking guitar."

* * *

The radio thing is a police scanner.

As soon as they get home, Diego shuts himself in the bedroom to try it out. Klaus stays in the living room, cuddling the guitar (although not actually playing it) and chatting with Dave. Ben settles in the dining nook to keep reading _A Brief History of Time_. (Klaus told Diego that Ben was reading it, and Diego bought it for him when they left the Goodwill. Which makes it Ben-as-a-ghost's first and so far only physical possession! So he's feeling pretty warm towards it, although it's turning out to be a dense read.)

A few hours later, the book abruptly disappears from Ben's hands. He looks up in alarm—did something happen to Klaus?—and realizes that he's alone.

Oh, okay. Klaus must have just left the room.

Ben wanders over to the bedroom Klaus is sharing with Diego. (The bedroom Klaus and Ben and Dave are sharing with Diego?) The door's standing open. Diego's sitting on his cot with the scanner, and Klaus has just flopped against his feet.

"I'm hungry," Klaus is complaining as Ben arrives.

"Vanya's not home yet," Diego says, fiddling with the knobs. A staticky voice reels off a string of numbers, and what might be an address.

"She didn't say _when_ she was coming home," Klaus points out.

"Didn't you used to go days without eating?"

"Yeah, but now you've gotten me addicted to food." Klaus climbs up on the cot and drapes himself against Diego's shoulder. "C'monnnn. I'm getting withdrawal pangs. I'm all shaky and my head hurts."

Diego rolls his eyes. "You have low blood sugar. You should've eaten your lunch."

Lunch, in principle, had been burritos bought from a food truck between the gym and the Goodwill. Klaus had handed his off to an old homeless man sitting on the sidewalk near where Diego's car was parked. Diego had gone through a few interesting facial expressions, obviously wanting to scold Klaus for not eating but _not_ feeling up for telling him he shouldn't be charitable, particularly when Klaus and the old guy had called each other by name when saying good-bye.

Ben hadn't remembered the guy by name, but he remembered him sharing his liquor stash with Klaus while Klaus was staying in the shelter.

"If you want me to eat, you should make me food!" Klaus tells Diego urgently now.

"Make yourself some food," Diego says.

"I don't know how."

Diego sighs, shuts off the scanner, and stands up. "Okay, let's see what's in the kitchen."

* * *

There's nothing in a ready-to-eat state. There isn't even bread for sandwiches.

There's raw hamburger, onions, potatoes and carrots.

Diego puts them out on the counter and gives them a daunted look. "You could just eat some raw carrots while we wait for Vanya," he suggests to Klaus.

Klaus makes a face, takes a carrot, and crunches into it.

"Jesus, Klaus, _wash_ it first!" Diego says. He snatches it away from Klaus and holds it under running water, rubbing away the visible dirt.

"Wow, fussy," Klaus says.

Dave looks amused. "I guess I can see why you didn't have too much trouble with army food."

Diego hands the now-clean carrot back to Klaus.

"Apparently my low culinary standards served me well in the army," Klaus tells Diego, before taking another bite. "According to Dave," he adds with his mouth full.

Diego stifles a laugh, and starts putting the ingredients back in the fridge.

"Hang on," Dave says. "You're not seriously going to wait for your sister to come home and cook for you, are you?"

"Well, it's her kitchen," Klaus says.

Dave tilts his head. "No. _Downstairs_ was her kitchen. This is _your_ kitchen. You've all moved in together."

"What did Ben say?" Diego asks.

"No, it's Dave," Klaus corrects him. "He thinks we should make dinner."

"It's not Vanya's job to feed you," Dave points out. "Even I know that, and I literally grew up in the 1950s."

"Ooooh, Diego," Klaus says. "We're getting schooled in feminism by a guy who remembers when Dwight Eisenhower was president."

Diego rubs the back of his neck, a little uncomfortably. "It's not that I don't want to be a good roommate. I just don't know how to do anything outside of heating soup on a hot plate."

Klaus waves the stumpy end of his carrot at Diego. "Diego! I have a _new_ theory about why Eudora broke up with you!"

Diego hunches his shoulders. "Shut up, Klaus. She _likes_ doing the cooking."

Dave facepalms. "Guys, guys," he says. "Tell you what. I can talk you through a Hungarian goulash."

* * *

Dave is an amazingly patient instructor, but Klaus and Diego are inept apprentices, and Diego is extra-handicapped by the fact that all of his instructions get filtered through Klaus.

At one point it occurs to Ben that he _could_ suggest that they bring the typewriter into the kitchen, and then Ben could at least provide a more reliable, verbatim version of Dave's instructions for Diego.

In the end, though, he decides not to bring it up. He just sits on the counter and enjoys the show.

At least Diego's good at cutting up vegetables.

Klaus, on the other hand, manages to slice his own palm while chopping a potato.

"Gaaaahhh!" Klaus holds his hand up, staring in horror at the thin line of red welling up across the tattooed _Hello_.

Diego wrinkles his nose. "Go get that cleaned up. Don't get it on the food."

"Diego I'm bleeeeeeding," Klaus wails. "And I was so light-headed from hunger already! I might faint!"

Diego looks alarmed. "What, really?" He sets down his knife (a kitchen knife, not one of his special ones) and goes to Klaus's side, placing a protective hand at the small of his back. "Come on, you should sit down."

Ben rolls his eyes and says (to Dave, since he's the only person at this point who's going to listen to him): "If he's making a big fuss like that, he's probably fine. It's if he gets _quiet_ that you have to worry."

Dave's mouth quirks halfway into a smile. "Yeah, I know, thanks."

Diego takes Klaus to the bathroom, disinfects the shallow cut, and wraps it up.

Klaus blinks up at him with doe-eyed placidity. "How 'bout I just sit out the rest of the dinner prep? I can tell you what Dave wants you to do."

"Um, no," Dave says. He's leaning against the bathroom door frame with his arms crossed.

Klaus gives him a startled look. "No?"

Dave smirks. "This is why you can't cook, isn't it?"

"Yep," Ben confirms. "He hurts himself or sets something on fire, and gets banned from the kitchen."

"Not on _purpose_ ," Klaus declares, looking offended.

"Historically, I guess it mostly happens because you're high," Ben shrugs. "Tonight was just incompetence, I assume."

Meanwhile, Diego's eyes have narrowed. "Klaus, did you fucking cut yourself to get out of making dinner?" he asks, clearly connecting the dots from the one-third of the conversation that he's been able to hear.

"I absolutely did not!" Klaus insists. "Nobody told me I was doing it wrong!"

Dave shrugs. "That's on me. Sorry. Come back to the kitchen and I'll show you how to do it properly."

* * *

Klaus's potato-cutting goes better this time, with Dave standing behind him, arms encircling him, hands lightly resting on Klaus's hands to guide them.

"There, like that. Never cut _toward_ your other hand."

Diego watches for a moment, satisfying himself that Klaus has things under control (that Dave has Klaus under control?) and then goes back to swiftly chopping the carrots into smooth little dimes.

"Other-timeline you was good at this, by the way," Dave says to Klaus, brushing a quick kiss against the edge of his ear. "At least, you sure were by the _second_ time you got punishment-duty peeling and cutting 60 pounds of potatoes in the company kitchen."

Klaus lets out a soft laugh. "Plausible. What was I being punished for?"

"Oh, I don't know. Either speaking disrespectfully to an officer, or letting your M-16 get fouled. It was usually one or the other of those."

"Hm. Careless of me," Klaus says, in an oddly careful tone. "Dad made sure we knew our way around a rifle."

"I guess that explains it," Dave says. "I always wondered."

"Wondered what?"

"How you kept coming up with fresh new ways to disable your weapon."

Klaus stands a little stiff in Dave's arms now, and the knife stalls half-way through a cut. "I did that?"

"Did what?" Diego asks, looking over curiously.

"Eventually I figured out it couldn't always be an accident," Dave says. "We all did—the guys in the squad. Nobody ever ratted you out, though. And you made sure we never walked into a minefield, so—fair trade."

"And why would I do that?" Klaus asks. Staring up at the cupboards, still tense and stiff.

"You never said," Dave says. "Even to me. It was all 'oh gosh, how did that firing pin break off? How on earth did all the powder in those cartridges get replaced with mud?'" He does a creditable job of mimicking the lilting tones that Klaus's voice takes on when he's playing innocent. "I _assume_ ," Dave goes on, slipping his hands down to hug Klaus around the waist, "that you didn't want to shoot it."

"So ... I never actually ... _killed_ anybody?"

Dave lets out a rueful little laugh. "Ten months in the war. Nope. You sure didn't."

"Ah," Klaus lets out a shuddery breath, and relaxes. He looks over at Diego and announces with a sunny smile (and slightly shiny, wet-looking eyes): "Diego, Dave says I didn't kill anybody!"

"Mmm, is that a good thing?" Diego looks skeptical.

(Ben has mixed feelings too. His own history is soaked in blood.) "That's great, Klaus," he says. "I guess you must've been worried about that."

"Sorry," Dave says, smoothing a curl of Klaus's hair away from his forehead. "Maybe I should've said something earlier. I didn't think of it."

"I didn't want to ask," Klaus confesses. "I thought—well, it was a war. I don't know what I'd do in a _war_."

Dave leans into Klaus a little more heavily, resting his chin on Klaus's shoulder. "Nobody does," he agrees.

* * *

Eventually, the hamburger is browned and the vegetables are (safely) chopped and they're all mixed together with a few cups of water and some spices.

The resulting meat-and-vegetable stew needs to simmer for an hour before it will be ready to eat.

"An _hour_?" Klaus moans.

"Sorry." Dave looks sheepish. "I didn't think that one through."

"Nah, it's okay," Klaus says. "I'll just go ... collapse on the couch."

Diego snorts, and starts running water into the kitchen sink. "FYI," he says, "next time we make dinner and you _don't_ have an open wound on your hand, _you're_ doing the dishes."

"Sure, sure!" Klaus says, waving his bandaged hand. He flops on the couch, cradling the guitar to his chest. "Hey Ben," he says. "Wanna possess me when it's time to do the dishes? Joking-not-joking!" He grins at Ben and strums the guitar.

Ben doesn't dignify that with a response. He just picks up his ghost-book again.

A few minutes later, there are voices outside the apartment's door, and the sound of a key in the lock. Vanya walks in—smiling back over her shoulder at the person behind her. "Excuse the mess and all the boxes," she says.

"Oh, hello!" Klaus says, popping up with a delighted expression. "Vanya, you brought a guest! That's cool, Dave showed us how to make goulash and we'll have plenty to share."

Vanya's guest is a slender, serious-looking woman with straight dark hair and a delicate, heart-shaped face. She has very good posture. Like Vanya, she's carrying a violin case.

"Helen," Vanya says, "this is my brother Klaus. And my other brother, Diego," she adds, as Diego steps out of the kitchen area, drying his hands on a dish towel.

"Hi," Diego says, making his way over to them and holding out a hand.

Helen shakes Diego's hand, looking very formal.

"Helen is first violin in the orchestra," Vanya explains. Her tone of voice suggests that this is something pretty wonderful and that she'd like them all to be suitably impressed.

Klaus scrambles over the back of the sofa and, as soon as Diego's handshake is done, moves in and gives Helen a two-cheek kiss of greeting. She handles it a lot more adeptly than Eudora's brother Fred did the other night; she kisses him back gracefully.

"Hi," Ben says, because it seems rude not to.

"Ben says 'hi'," Klaus promptly reports, making Ben think he probably shouldn't have.

"Hi, Ben," Helen says levelly, looking just past Klaus's shoulder (not anywhere near where Ben actually is).

Klaus's eyes widen, and he looks at Vanya. "You told her about Ben already?" he asks, in a tone of happy surprise.

"Ah, yes." Vanya looks slightly evasive. "Oh, Helen, let me take your coat. I'll put it in the closet."

Helen hands over the item in question—a lovely brown wool trench coat—and as she takes it, Vanya says to Klaus, "Do you mind if I borrow Ben for a moment?"

"Huh?" Klaus says. "Whatever, he's just been reading his book and being really boring. What exactly do you think you're going to do with him, though?"

"Oh, I just want a little chat with him," Vanya says.

Klaus shrugs, and goes back to the couch. Helen stays where she is, looking a bit uncertain of herself.

Vanya strides quickly down the hall to the coat closet, opens the door (blocking herself from Helen's view), and mutters softly, "Ben? Shit. I should've asked Klaus to come with me. Now I don't even know if you're here."

Ben is, of course, right behind her. Not like he was going to resist that weird invitation.

"Okay, I'm just going to talk and hope you're listening," Vanya continues, keeping her voice down. "I want you to know: I told Helen about you and Dave. But. Could you do me a favor and not do anything tonight that _proves_ you actually exist? She thinks that you're figments of Klaus's imagination and we're humoring him. I didn't _tell_ her that, it's just what she obviously _assumed_ when I told her about Klaus's, um, issues, and his ghosts. Because of course she assumed that. And I just think ... if we let her get used to _pretending_ to believe in you for a little while before she has to _actually_ believe in you, it might go a lot easier. So, do you think you can get Klaus on board?" Vanya winces. "And, um, tell him I'm sorry."

Ben _hopes_ she's sorry. He's a little pissed off, frankly, to have this dropped on him when he can't talk back. If he could talk to her right now, he would question whether her new friend from the orchestra is more important to her than her _brother_. And it's doubly unfair of her to throw both Klaus's sanity and Ben's _existence_ under the bus.

But. They've been staying with Vanya for nearly three weeks, and there's been no evidence of her having even a single friend. So maybe not freaking out Helen-from-the-orchestra really _is_ that important to her.

"Okay," Ben concedes, even though Vanya can't hear him. "I'll play along. And I'll talk to Klaus."

* * *

Back in the living room, Helen is looking down at Klaus and saying, in a slightly strained making-an-effort-to-be-polite tone, "Vanya didn't mention that you played the guitar."

"Oh, she doesn't know!" Klaus strums the open strings. "I just bought it this afternoon!"

"Ah," Helen says. " _Do_ you play?"

"Sure!" Klaus says. "Hey, we should jam!"

Helen's eyebrow twitches. "Do you know Bartok's Violin Concerto Number Two?" she suggests.

Klaus doesn't react to the sarcasm at all. "Nope," he says. "Do you know Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water?"

"No," Helen says.

"I do," Vanya says.

Klaus gives her a happy smile. "Vanya! I never knew you were _cool_!"

Vanya exchanges a quietly amused look with Helen, and then opens her violin case. "We have some time before supper's ready, right? Klaus, why don't you get it started and I'll jump in."

Klaus sits up and curls himself over the guitar.

"You look so hot right now," Dave mentions, sitting himself on the arm of the couch.

"Smoke on the Water is literally the only song he knows," Ben informs Dave—just keeping the expectations realistic. Important fraternal duty. "And he only actually knows the repeating parts."

"Shush Ben," Klaus says, and strums the opening chord.

Vanya cringes. "No, wait, stop, stop, give it to me."

Klaus obediently hands over the guitar, and she settles to tuning it.

"Klaus?" Ben says, while she's doing that. "Tell Vanya..." he hesitates. "That I got her message."

"Ben says 'message received'," Klaus immediately informs Vanya. And then he turns back to Ben. "What message?"

Ben sighs. "She wants to maintain some ambiguity about me and Dave actually existing, for now. So we don't freak out her new friend."

"But Helen already said 'hi' to you!"

"Here Klaus!" Vanya shoves the guitar at him, smiling forcefully. "Let's jam."

Klaus gives her a slightly suspicious look—because he is not, in fact, stupid—but nevertheless he takes the guitar and looks down carefully at the frets, arranging his fingers.

"What happened to your hand?" Vanya asks, while he does this.

"Just a tiny dinner-related accident, don't worry about it," Klaus says, and strums.

"Yeah, he's fine," Diego confirms, and Vanya nods her thanks at him.

And then Klaus starts playing the characteristic riff. Duh duh DUH, duh duh DUH-DUH, duh duh DUH, DUH duuuh. Vanya listens once through, arranging her violin under her chin and picking up her bow in the meantime. And then when he repeats the sequence, she jumps in.

Klaus falters for a moment, obviously distracted by her entry. But she nods encouragement at him and musically draws him back in.

 _Duh duh DUH, duh duh DUH-DUH, duh duh DUH, DUH duuuh._ Vanya plays the same notes as Klaus on her first pass, only an octave higher. Then when he repeats again, she starts playing _around_ him.

After the third repeat of that riff, Klaus goes into the refrain (otherwise known as the only other part of the song that he knows): _Smoke on the water, fire in the sky._ He sings over the chords, a soft and bemused contralto. And Vanya's violin sings along with him.

Klaus goes back to the riff. This time Vanya's ornaments are even more creative; she inverts the chords and trills up and down, her bow flying. And she catches Helen's eye; some communication seems to pass between them, because Helen opens her own violin case, brings out the instrument and places it under her chin in one smooth move—and joins in, on the next repeat of the riff.

Now Helen and Vanya are dancing around each other, musically speaking. Physically, they're both standing with feet planted and violins held high, bows working wildly over the strings. Klaus has figured out his role; he's just steadily and carefully repeating the riff, frowning down at his own fingers as he makes the chord changes.

Vanya goes high; Helen goes low. Helen races upwards and Vanya meets her in the middle, quick little notes running into each other and embracing their comrades. It's improvised and delicate and astonishingly beautiful. Helen's eyes are locked with Vanya's now, and her nostrils flare in repressed excitement.

Even Klaus's extremely amateur guitar-playing starts to sound like something out of a once-in-a-lifetime concert.

Ben has a sudden insight: Vanya is cheating, a little. She's using her power to elevate the music, bringing it from astonishing to mind-blowing. Ben has a mental image of her tweaking the sound waves in the air the way Diego nudges the trajectory of a thrown knife.

Dave has pressed his hands over his mouth, and he's watching Klaus adoringly.

Diego is nodding to the rhythm of Klaus's riff, looking inward.

Vanya and Helen ramp up their tempo. They're still using Klaus's drone as a base, but they're flying high above it, hummingbird beats to his crow flaps. They're talking to each other, dancing with each other, _fighting_ with each other, a blur of notes warring for dominance and yet at the same time blending perfectly.

And then Klaus slaps his open bandaged hand over the guitar strings. Vanya's and Helen's bows both freeze in reaction.

"Ow," Klaus says. "My fingers hurt."

Vanya smiles and lowers her bow. "You have to build up the calluses." She gazes at Helen, who quietly lowers her bow as well, breathing just a little quickly.

Okay. The look Vanya and Helen are sharing is practically post-coital.

Ben doesn't say anything, but the look that Klaus shoots _him_ clearly conveys that he's noticed it too.

Diego, on the other hand, just grins and claps. "Jesus, that was amazing!"

Helen sketches a quick, ironic bow. Klaus, despite his sitting position and the guitar on his lap, manages to give the impression of a curtsy. Vanya just smiles.

* * *

Ben nearly skips dinner. He's miffed by the whole don't-let-Helen-know-you-exist thing. This means no typewriter, obviously, and also no possessing Klaus, even though it was totally Ben's turn to eat dinner.

"But we can still talk," Klaus points out. "How's Helen supposed to warm up to you if she doesn't have a chance to get to know you?"

This is in response to Ben's more complete explanation about Vanya's request, which he gives Klaus while Vanya and Diego are bringing out the goulash.

Notably, Helen is right there when Klaus says this. Her eyebrow twitches, but she doesn't otherwise react.

"We can just hang out," Dave reassures Ben. "Like you did in the old days, right?"

"The old days _sucked_ ," Ben mutters.

"Anyway, Vanya and Diego know that you're real," Dave comforts him.

So. They have dinner. And Klaus is on perfect behavior; he's polite to Helen, he doesn't talk about doing drugs or being homeless or selling sex; he carefully and verbatim repeats everything that Ben and Dave say.

As a result, Ben and Dave actually get to be very much a part of the conversation. But in a weird way, where Vanya and Diego know that they're there (and address them accordingly), while Helen obviously just believes that Klaus is very good at creating imaginary friends.

Interestingly, Helen turns out to have read and enjoyed _Dune_. So at one point, she and Dave and Ben have a very satisfying conversational digression about it, all via Klaus.

Ben supposes that Helen thinks she's talking _to_ Klaus. Although Klaus is very open about his lack of knowledge about the book: "They mostly read it while I'm asleep!"

After dinner, Diego retreats back to the bedroom to play with the police scanner some more, and Vanya and Helen bring out their violins and settle down to rehearsing some tricky section of a piece that they're learning for the orchestra. Apparently, this was the premise behind Helen coming over tonight.

Klaus flops on the couch and listens to them contentedly. Dave sits next to his head and keeps making aborted movements to pet Klaus's hair, catching himself at the last moment every time.

"Worried you'll turn visible if you touch Klaus?" Ben asks after the third repeat of this motion.

Dave nods a rueful confirmation. "Know what this reminds me of? Being in Vietnam, and having to hide our relationship from everybody."

"That doesn't sound like a good memory," Ben observes.

Klaus looks curious, but doesn't say anything; Vanya's already warned him sternly that he has to be quiet if he wants to stay in the room while she and Helen rehearse, and he's obviously taken it to heart. (Vanya's certainly become a lot more forceful since stopping her pills and discovering her power. Ben's still getting used to seeing her like this.)

"At the time, I didn't imagine life could be any other way," Dave recalls. "Everybody on the squad knew that Klaus and I were _tight_. They knew to bring him to me when he was fucked up. They were okay with me sitting on his cot and holding him when he was having a bad night. But man, if they'd ever seen us kiss? Or hold hands, or touch in a way that said more than really-close-buddies? A switch would've flipped. We would've been screwed."

Despite all the Klaus-in-the-Vietnam-War stories that Dave's told them so far, Ben has never really stopped to think through this aspect of it before. "I have trouble," Ben says, "imagining Klaus passing as straight. Um, no offense, Klaus."

Klaus gives Ben a wry little grin and a half-shrug: _none taken_.

"Everyone just decided he was _weird_ ," Dave recalls. "Weird and fierce and kind of feral, though. The image of homosexuals back then was, well, effeminate. Soft. Weak. And the guys definitely didn't see Klaus like _that_ , so he passed." His eyes go distant. "That said, I can't even count how many times Klaus nearly blew our cover. Sometimes I thought I'd never make it out of Vietnam because I'd die of a fucking _heart attack_ from the stress of it. He'd fucking grab my thigh under the lunch table in the fucking mess hall!"

Klaus grins wide. "I bet you loved it," he whispers.

Vanya glares at him without faltering in her rhythm.

Klaus makes a lip-zipping motion with his fingers, and closes his eyes.

"I did love it," Dave confesses. "You made me feel so _alive_." He pauses, obviously thinks about what he just said, and lets out a sad little snort of laughter. "Yeah, well. That was then."

"Being a ghost isn't so bad," Ben offers. "Around Klaus, anyway."

"True," Dave agrees immediately. "This isn't the happily-ever-after I used to dream about, those nights in the jungle. This isn't like anything I ever could have imagined. But it's really good, all the same."

* * *

Eventually, Klaus falls asleep. Vanya and Helen, focused intently on each other and their music, don't notice for another half hour—until Klaus suddenly yells something incoherent, flails, and falls off the couch.

The music stops abruptly, as both women give him startled glances. But while Helen freezes, Vanya immediately sets her violin in its case and drops to her knees next to Klaus. "Are you okay?"

His eyes don't focus on her, and his breath is coming in fast, shallow pants.

Dave crouches down beside Vanya. "You're okay, Klaus, it was just a dream," he assures him gently.

Vanya touches Klaus's arm. "Klaus?"

Klaus blinks, and finally seems to notice Vanya. His eyes slide up and past her immediately, to Helen—who's biting her lip and frowning down at him, violin still tucked under her chin. "Oh, hi!" he says, starting out shaky but smoothing it out as he talks. "What are you doing up there? What am I doing down here?"

"You just fell off the couch," Vanya tells him.

"Oopsie daisy."

"Are you okay?"

Klaus smiles and edges away from her. "Yes, yes. Fine as can be." He squirms back up onto the couch and sits there, smiling encouragingly at Helen. "Don't let me interrupt."

"You should go to bed, Klaus," Ben says.

"Ben says it's bedtime," Klaus reports obediently.

Vanya gives Helen a significant sideways glance and says, "He has a point. I hadn't realized how late it was getting. Helen ... would you like to stay over?"

Helen nods, a tiny smile tugging at her lips.

"Nighty-night, then!" Klaus calls out, heaving himself up from the couch and making his exit. "See y'all at breakfast!"

* * *

Diego's still on his cot with the police scanner. He's got his old police procedures manual out, and he's frowning intently at one of the pages. "Oh hey," he greets Klaus without looking up.

"Hey, roomie," Klaus returns, and settles to stealing clothes from Diego's drawers to sleep in.

Diego looks up part-way through this process. "Uh, didn't we just buy you a whole bunch of clothes of your own?"

"Yeah, but I didn't get pajamas."

Diego sighs, shakes his head, and makes no attempt to assert sovereignty over his wardrobe.

Klaus, with no concern for nudity taboos, strips off all the clothes he's wearing, tosses them in a corner (Ben makes a mental note to remind _somebody_ tomorrow that the guys' room needs a laundry basket), and dresses himself in Diego's soft, worn sweats. And also Diego's underwear, because Klaus didn't get any of _that_ at the Goodwill, either. Oh well, not like he hasn't already been wearing Diego's underwear for the past three weeks.

When they were kids, their uniform clothes would all get mixed up in the laundry anyway; until they hit their growth spurts at different times and to different effects, nobody cared much which clothes were whose.

"Gonna brush my teeth," Klaus announces then. "Anybody wanna come with?"

Ben rolls his eyes. "Pass."

"Are you asking me?" Diego asks. "Or Dave and Ben?"

"Do you _want_ company?" Dave asks.

"Nah, nah," Klaus says. "We had that whole talk in the car this morning, right? I can go brush my teeth by myself." He wanders away.

"What talk in the car?" Diego wonders out loud, looking after him with a puzzled frown.

"Oh," Dave says, looking just a tiny bit anxious. " _Should_ one of us go with him?"

It's not that Klaus has never yet been alone since he got sober. He's been going to the bathroom by himself, at least, since he got strong enough. But ... out of long habit, Ben's always trailed after him and waited outside the door, making conversation. Just to keep track, and make sure everything's okay. (Anyway, Ben's been a lot less worried about the bathroom since finding out that Vanya keeps her drugs in the kitchen. And that she doesn't own anything that Klaus would want to take.)

And yet tonight, Ben doesn't feel the need.

"He'll be fine," he says with easy assurance.

And, wow. How great is that? To know that Klaus is out of his sight—out of _everyone_ 's sight—and not be worried about him _at all_.

* * *

When Klaus comes back to the bedroom (five minutes later, and without incident!) he plops himself down next to Diego on the cot, leans against his shoulder, and says, "Put away your boring code book. I wanna sleep."

Diego places his finger on the page so that he won't lose his place as Klaus paws at the book and tries to make him close it. "I thought you were going in with Vanya tonight?" They'd had a very brief conversation about it first thing in the morning, when Diego had said something wry about all-night cuddles and the crick in his neck, and Vanya had mentioned that her bed was still plenty big enough for two and that she was happy to keep doing turnabout for keeping Klaus company at night.

"Mmm, well, I don't think Helen would appreciate my interloping presence," Klaus says.

Diego looks up in surprise. "Helen's still here? Oh, shit, does she need a ride home? I should've offered." He stands up.

Klaus scrambles up too, and manages to get ahead of Diego and block the bedroom door. "Woah woah woah woah, Diego!" he intones. "Do _not_ go cock-blocking our beloved sister!"

"Cock bl- _what_?" Diego looks perplexed. Dave, in the background, snorts. "What are you talking about, Klaus?" Diego asks (ignorant of Dave's editorial contribution).

"Oh my god, Diego, did you not notice them vibing?"

Diego, apparently, had not. 

Klaus sighs, and claps Diego's shoulder with his (uninjured) left hand. "Diego," he says, "sometimes when two violinists love each other _very much_..." And then he breaks into giggles. "Never mind, you'll get it eventually."

"Wait," Diego says. "Are you trying to tell me that Vanya's _gay_?"

Klaus winces. "Why do people always want to put labels on things?" he asks Ben.

Ben shrugs.

"It doesn't matter!" Diego says quickly. "She's our sister, and we love her."

"Yes," Klaus nods encouragingly. "That's good. Get all the clumsy awkwardness out of your system now, so you can just be chill at breakfast."

"I think he's doing great," Dave comments.

"Your standards are from the 1950s," Klaus points out.

Diego's eyes narrow suspiciously at Klaus. "What are the ghosts saying about me?"

"Dave is supportive of your journey," Klaus says. "Ben's just making a face."

Ben makes more of a face.

"Well, you _were_!" Klaus says to him.

"Okay, excuse me for not figuring things out based on absolutely no evidence," Diego says. And then he stops, and frowns. "Hey, what happened to your face?"

"Huh?"

Diego pokes a place high on Klaus's left cheek. Klaus jerks away, hissing. "Dieeeeego! Ouch!"

Ben moves in for a closer look. Oh, yeah—there's a bruise starting up there.

"What happened?" Diego repeats.

"Um, okay, I fell on it," Klaus explains, looking annoyed.

"You fell on your face? How? When?"

"Just earlier, in the living room. Whatever, I'm clumsy." He waves his bandaged hand as further evidence.

"Typewriter," Ben says. "Klaus. I want the typewriter."

"What, so you can tell Diego all about my fucking tumble off the couch?"

"So I can tell him whatever I want to," Ben says. "I want the typewriter in the bedroom, okay?"

"You fell off the couch?" Diego asks, meanwhile. " _How_?"

"Typewriter," Ben insists.

"Aaaaaagh," Klaus says, but turns to leave the room.

"Klaus?" Diego looks confused now, and worried.

"I'm going to get the typewriter," Klaus clarifies.

"Oh." Diego looks relieved.

Which Ben takes as a compliment, overall, for the implication that communication with him will make everything better.

Anyway, then Diego follows Klaus out of the room—but while Klaus goes to the living room to get the typewriter, Diego goes to the kitchen. When they all reunite in the bedroom, Diego's got a ziplock baggie full of ice cubes. "Here," he hands it to Klaus. "Try to keep down the swelling."

"Oh, I should have thought of that," Dave says, sounding rueful.

Ben shrugs. "It's been a long time since you've had a body," he points out. "Ideally, _Klaus_ should have thought of it." Or Ben, to be honest. But for the past nine years, he's been in major damage-control mode, constantly worried about Klaus overdosing, starving, freezing, or getting beat up. It's a luxury to think that such a minor injury is worth noting and treating.

Klaus has set the typewriter on the floor near the cot. Ben sinks down cross-legged in front of it. "Let me type?"

Klaus nods. He sits on the cot, so Ben's back can rest against his legs.

 **I'm happy for Vanya,** Ben types. **But I don't like pretending not to exist. Could you guys help me talk to her about this tomorrow?**

"I could make out with Dave at breakfast," Klaus volunteers immediately. "That should clear things up quickly enough."

Oh, it's tempting. To let Klaus's tendency toward chaos work in his favor for once? But ... **No,** he types. **I don't want to force her hand. That wouldn't be fair. If she tells Helen about your power, she'll pretty much have to tell her about HER power. She might not be ready for that yet.**

"I get that," Diego says, reading over Klaus's shoulder. "But—me keeping everything from Eudora for so long was a huge mistake. I'll help you talk this out with Vanya, Ben."

**Thanks.**

"So what's the story with Klaus taking a nose-dive off the living room couch?" Diego asks, looking a bit worried. "He didn't faint again, did he?"

" _Again?_ " Klaus repeats, a bit indignantly. "When did I faint before?"

"At Eudora's," Diego reminds him. "And you nearly split your fucking head open on the coffee table."

Diego is carrying around some keeping-Klaus-alive-despite-himself trauma, Ben notes. Ben can very much relate. **No, he just fell asleep and then had a bad dream and rolled off,** he clarifies.

"Ah, I see," Diego says.

Ben looks up, and sees Diego sliding his arm across Klaus's shoulders for a quick one-armed hug. Klaus is still holding the ice bag to the lower part of his left eye socket.

"Eugh, whatever," Klaus says. "Dreams, couches, gravity—bad combo."

"Klaus," Diego says, "Are you okay?"

"Sure," Klaus says. "I might have a teensy black eye tomorrow, but if I go heavy enough on the eyeliner it'll look okay."

"Mm hm," Diego says, a little dubiously. Reacting to the make-up plan, Ben guesses. "But I meant—about the dream. Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

 **He doesn't like talking about them,** Ben types.

"I know," Diego says. "He didn't want to last night, either. Or the night before. Or the night before that. Doesn't mean I'm going to stop asking."

"Fuck," Klaus says very quietly. "Don't."

"Don't what?" Diego asks.

"Make me go there."

"I'm not making you do anything," Diego points out. And then adds, "But what do you mean?"

"I'm _okay_ , Diego. I'm _great_. I've never been this good. I have a bedroom. I have a guitar and a drawer full of clothes."

" _More_ than a drawer," Diego murmurs. Only about half of the clothes that Klaus acquired this morning could be crammed into the single drawer he'd been allotted. The rest are still sitting in a bag on the floor.

"So just let me tell you I'm fine, okay? And then hold me so I can sleep, and I'll probably wake up screaming, and let's just ignore the petty inconsistency, yes please?"

"Sure," Diego says. "If you ever want to talk about it, though, I'm here."

The pressure of Klaus's legs is removed from Ben's back. Ben looks up again, and sees that Klaus has tucked himself into a ball, leaning against Diego. "There's nothing to _say_ ," Klaus insists. And then, contradicting himself: "They just scream. And reach for me. That's all they ever do."

"They who?" Diego asks.

Klaus doesn't say anything.

 **The ghosts in his head,** Ben types.

"Okay, buddy," Diego says softly. "Thanks for telling me. That sucks. Shhhh." Ben wonders at the shush, since Klaus isn't saying anything, but then he realizes it's just Diego's reaction to how Klaus has started shivering. "Maybe they'll get tired of doing that, eventually," Diego adds, rocking Klaus a little. "I hope they do."

And then Klaus cries quietly for a while.

And then Diego pushes the cot over against the couch, and he spoons Klaus tightly on the cot, and Dave lies facing them on the couch with his fingers laced through Klaus's, just like last night.

Ben just asks for enough power to give Diego a quick hug, and then he perches on the back of the couch.

It takes Klaus a long time to fall asleep—it's a quarter of an hour before Dave's fingers slip like smoke through Klaus's.

"I don't know," Ben says to Dave, knowing that Klaus can't hear him now, "if it's ever going to get any better than this."

Dave sits up and rubs his neck. "What do you mean?"

Ben's not even sure what he means. Klaus is sober, and healthy, and not homeless anymore. He's figuring out his power, and getting better at handling actual ghosts. Ben feels really good about getting him this far. But he thinks they may have hit the limit, in terms of how much things can improve.

"I'm not sure it's possible for him to feel safe," Ben says after a thoughtful pause. "Or happy." Not without being high, anyway, and that's just a way of _feeling_ safe without _being_ safe.

"What are you talking about?" Dave asks. "He was happy lots of times today. When he was trying on the clothes. When Diego bought him the guitar. When we were making dinner. When he was jamming with Vanya and Helen."

"Yeah, but." Ben is haunted, in a non-literal sense, by the thought of the vengeful apparitions his brother sees whenever he closes his eyes. He's watched over Klaus through more nightmares than anybody else has. He's seen him on the really bad nights, when he bites his fingers so hard that they bleed, or rakes bloody gouges in his own chest with his fingernails. "He always comes back to the screaming ghosts."

"And we'll always be here to pull him away from them again," Dave says. "It's okay."

Ben looks at Dave, and Dave gazes back; calm, and optimistic, and confident.

Okay. Ben can see how this is the one person who's ever managed to be successfully in a relationship with Klaus.

"Want to finish reading A Wizard of Earthsea?" Ben asks.

Dave smiles. "That would be great!"


	23. Chapter 23

Klaus doesn't wake up screaming, but he does wake up from nightmares. Three times.

The first two times, his squirming attempts to extricate himself from Diego's arms wake Diego up, and Diego's successfully able to soothe Klaus back to sleep pretty quickly, with a little help from Dave.

The third time, Klaus's attempts to exit the cot are more frantic, and when he manages to choke out "Diego, I'm gonna throw up," Diego lets him go.

Diego follows him to the bathroom (as do Ben, and a worried-looking Dave). Klaus makes it just in time. He doesn't shut the door, so Diego follows him in, rubs his back, and gives him a tissue to wipe his face clean, after.

By then, Vanya is blinking at the doorway. "What's going on?"

"Klaus was just sick," Diego says. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Me too," Diego says. "Probably not food poisoning, then." He frowns thoughtfully at Klaus. "Are you done puking?"

Klaus nods. He's looking pale and sweaty.

"You can go back to bed," Diego tells Vanya. "I'll look after him."

"Okay, thanks," Vanya says, and, covering a yawn, heads back to her room.

Diego helps Klaus up and holds on to him, guiding him back to their own room. He settles Klaus on the couch, wraps a blanket around his shoulders, and then insists on taking his temperature. Which turns out to be totally normal.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, you can all stop fussing," Klaus says, covering his face after Diego reads off the temperature. "I think the ghosties just upset my tummy, that's all."

Diego looks a little skeptical. "Is that a thing that can happen?"

**I don't know,** Ben types. The typewriter is up on the couch now; he's leaning against Klaus.

Klaus waking up in the middle of the night and needing to barf isn't exactly _unusual_. Between alcohol poisoning, hangovers, encroaching opioid withdrawal, and the natural effects of up to 30% of his diet sometimes coming from dumpsters, Klaus has typically lived with an unsettled stomach quite a lot of the time. None of those things apply right now, though.

"From the stress, maybe, sure," Dave says quietly. He's on the other side of Klaus.

**Dave suggests: effect of stress,** Ben types, for Diego's benefit.

"Oh," Diego says, sounding enlightened. And then he adds, "Remember Luther before missions?"

Klaus lets out a soft laugh and lowers his hands. "He'd get so mad if we said anything about it."

"Klaus ... um, where can I sit and not be on top of Dave or Ben?"

Ben appreciates Diego's thoughtfulness in asking.

The cot is still pushed up against the couch, making a sort of double-bed situation. Klaus, Dave and Ben between them are pretty much taking up the whole couch, so Klaus pats the stretch of cot in front of himself. Diego eases himself onto it with a creaking of springs, tucking his legs up cross-legged. He tilts his head and looks at Klaus. "Is it getting worse?" he asks.

"Is what?"

"The nightmares. I don't remember them being like this before. Not since we were kids."

Before? Oh, he means the other times when Klaus crashed on his couch. **The times you've seen Klaus as an adult,** Ben points out, **he's been very sick, or high.** Or both; frequently both.

"True," Diego says, frowning at the page. "So ... it's worse because he's sober and healthy? That sucks."

**I don't think that's it,** Ben types. Or, not _exactly_ it, anyway. **Some nights are always worse than others. You haven't seen a really bad one yet.**

"I haven't?" Diego's questioning tone is somewhere between skeptical and alarmed.

"Agh, Ben, don't tell tales out of school," Klaus moans, leaning into Dave.

**You haven't seen him nearly bite his fingertips off,** Ben offers as a for-instance.

"Uh, yes I have," Diego says.

It's true, coaxing Klaus's fingers out of his mouth has been a pretty frequent post-nightmare requirement. But it hasn't been too serious lately; it's actually been several years since the last really bad incident. **Check the scars on the third and fourth fingers of his left hand,** Ben tells Diego.

Klaus sighs, and glares at Ben, but suffers his fingers to be examined.

"Oh, ouch," Diego says, scrunching up his nose in sympathy.

Ben remembers that 4 a.m. ER visit. On the plus side, Klaus's bed companion that night had realized the necessity of bringing him there. On the minus side, the guy had decided to treat Klaus's panic with two Valium pills (and had taken one himself) before heading to the hospital, so they'd both been very obviously high, and the hospital staff had treated Klaus accordingly (with a brusque distaste, and shooing him out the door as soon as possible).

Honestly, though, if Klaus had been more sober, the hospital's ghosts might have been too much for him. So maybe it had all worked out for the best.

"So the moral of the story is, nothing to see here, move along folks," Klaus says.

"Situation normal, all fucked up?" Dave suggests. Ben types it for Diego.

Klaus nods, like Dave has just said something wise. "Exactly."

"But you can't just _go on_ like this, can you?" Diego asks. "I mean, waking up scared is one thing, but throwing up or hurting yourself—"

**I made him wear mittens to bed for six months after the night he got those scars,** Ben offers as an example of constructive action.

Klaus had complained and whined, but Ben had insisted. He could be very insistent. Eventually Klaus had made a virtue of necessity by shoplifting adorable Hello Kitty mittens, and incorporating the mittens-in-bed thing into his overall aura of zaniness.

"We don't need to go back to that," Klaus says.

"Mmmm, we'll keep it in mind as a fallback," Diego says. "Okay, look. I guess we can't fix this tonight. Are you ready to go back to sleep again?"

Klaus's jaw tenses. "... No," he says after a moment. "I'd rather not."

Diego sighs, and rubs his eyes. "Okay. Want to go for a walk?"

"You can sleep," Klaus says. "I'll sit up with Dave and Ben."

"I want to sleep," Diego admits. "But I'm still a little worried about you, bro. I think ... the ghosts in your head are bad tonight, right?"

"Um, yeah." Klaus looks at Diego a little suspiciously, as though Diego has somehow violated his privacy to get that information. Like Diego couldn't infer it from the four nightmare-wakings and the throwing up.

"If you don't want to go for a walk, how about a drive?" Diego suggests. "To Griddy's, maybe?"

Klaus lights up. "Really?"

"What's Griddy's?" Dave asks.

"Best all-night doughnut place in the city!" Klaus declares happily. "We used to sneak out to it together when we were kids."

"Oh wow," Dave says. "Is this a _happy_ childhood memory?"

Ben smiles. "Yes."

Dave gives Klaus a quick hug. "Then I definitely want to see this place."

* * *

By the time they return home from Griddy's, the city is already waking up to weak December daylight. In the apartment, Vanya and Helen are in the kitchen. There's coffee brewing.

"You're okay," Vanya says as soon as she sees them, looking relieved. "Where the hell were you?"

"We did a late night Griddy's run," Diego says.

Vanya frowns, and Ben's momentarily afraid that she's hurt at being left out. (They _did_ discuss whether to knock on her bedroom door and invite her along. But they'd unanimously decided that neither she nor Helen would actually appreciate that.) But then she says, "You should have left a note. I was worried."

"Huh?" Diego says. "Why?"

Vanya's frown gets deeper. "Because the last time I saw you it was four in the morning and Klaus was sick? I thought maybe you'd gone to the hospital. Next time, _please_ leave a note."

Diego and Klaus share a guilty look. Ben would be in on it too, if he could make eye contact with Diego.

"Sorry," Diego says. "I didn't think of that."

"I wasn't actually sick, anyway," Klaus says. He waves an airy hand. "It was just a bad dream thing."

"That made you barf?"

"It's a perfectly normal reaction to stress!" Klaus assures her.

Helen looks sympathetic. "I used to throw up before every performance," she confides. "What's stressing you out?"

"Staying sober, I think," Klaus says. And then his eyes widen. "Oops. Sorry, Vanya. I'm _trying_ not to scare off your new girlfriend."

Vanya does a quick, smug smile. Ben thinks it's in reaction to the word 'girlfriend.' And then she reassures Klaus, "No, it's okay, I told her you're in recovery. I thought it ... might avoid some awkwardness."

"Oh, that's all right then," Klaus says, but the words take on a biting edge. "It's best if people are warned. Drug addict, sees ghosts, unpredictable and periodically unpleasant—"

"Klaus," Dave says, in a tone of gentle warning. "Cut your sister a break. She's doing her best."

Klaus gives a little shudder, and then manages a fairly sincere-looking smile. "Sorry, Van," he says again. "It was kind of a long night."

"I was about to make breakfast," Vanya says, accepting the apology implicitly. "But if you guys just got back from Griddy's..."

"No, we could eat breakfast," Diego interrupts quickly.

(Diego had only eaten half of his doughnut, in the end. Klaus hadn't even wanted to order one, but he'd picked a bit of the icing off the other half of Diego's. The outing had been the important thing; actual 5 a.m. doughnuts are apparently not nearly as appealing to 26-year-olds as they are to 12-year-olds—not that Ben would know directly.)

"In that case," Vanya says, "scrambled eggs and bacon in fifteen minutes?"

* * *

Klaus's reaction to a hard night is to dress as fabulously as possible.

At the Goodwill yesterday, his absolute prize find had been a black tutu skirt that fit him perfectly. (Ben and Diego had done their brotherly best to be encouraging; "If you like how you feel in it, then it's great," Diego had said. Ben had managed: "It's really nice and ... puffy." Dave, at least, had seemed to appreciate it sincerely.) He pairs it with a purple-and-green tie-dyed tank top, and black lycra leggings.

Diego gives the outfit a skeptical look. "You do realize we're going to the gym after breakfast, right?"

Klaus shrugs. "So?"

"So ... you're going to work out in that?"

"Am I going to work out?" Klaus sounds surprised.

"You promised you would," Diego reminds him. "And I think you need to. Klaus, I swear, it'll help you."

"Okay, okay, sure, okay." Klaus says. "I can change into workout clothes at the gym." And then he heads to the bathroom to apply eyeliner. He does have a slight black eye from the fall off the couch; the liberally applied and carefully smudged eyeliner doesn't _hide_ it, but does make it look more like a fashion choice.

By the time they get out to the dining nook, Helen and Vanya have already set the table, and Vanya's putting out the eggs and bacon.

There are six chairs crowded around the little table, Ben notes. One per living person plus one per ghost. At least Vanya's willing to let Helen believe that she's _committed_ to indulging her brother's imaginary-friend delusions.

Ben expresses his feelings passive-aggressively by deliberately sitting in the chair that Diego's clearly about to sit in, forcing Klaus to interrupt Diego with a frantic "Stop! Stop! You're about to sit on Ben!"

Anyway, everybody finds a seat and starts passing stuff around the table. Ben's happy to note that Klaus is taking reasonable helpings of everything. He must be feeling better.

"Oh wow," Helen says, glancing down as she accepts the plate of eggs that Klaus is passing to her. "Is that an _Umbrella Academy_ tattoo?"

"Ah—" Klaus, and everybody else at the table, looks down at his bare, outstretched forearm. "Well, yes," Klaus says after a moment. "It certainly seems to be."

"Okay," Helen says. The accompanying disdainful snort is _almost_ politely suppressed. She takes the eggs, and spoons some onto her plate.

"You're not a fan?" Klaus ventures. Belatedly, he tucks his arms down against his torso, and rocks a little, questioningly.

"Never mind," Helen says. "The tattoo goes ... nicely ... with your look."

Ben thinks she's trying to be conciliatory. She's really not very good at it.

Of course, Klaus is not actually insulted on behalf of the tattoo. "It's kind of goth, right?" he says. "Anyway, I was young when I got it. I should get it covered up, or something."

Vanya clears her throat, looking at Helen. "Did you _follow_ the Umbrella Academy?"

Ben thinks he can see the conflict playing out in her eyes—she knows she shouldn't ask, but she can't help herself.

"Well it was hard to avoid them for a few years back there, wasn't it?" Helen says, and passes the eggs along to a silently-choking Diego. "The whole thing was so tacky and overblown. Don't you think?"

"Profoundly," Klaus says.

"And when I think about it now," Helen says, and shakes her head, "those poor kids."

"Mmm, why do you say that?" Klaus asks, leaning forward now with an expression of amused, alert interest. "They lived in a mansion, they got to travel, they went on T.V. and they had all those magazine spreads..."

"Can you imagine growing up in the public eye like that, though?" Helen says. "It must have given them such a distorted sense of reality. And when you stop and think about those missions they used to do—like, keep in mind that they were _children_ —the whole thing's pretty horrifying."

"Hm," Klaus says in vague, noncommittal agreement.

"It's weird to think that they must be all grown up now," Helen says. "I mean, they're our age, right? I wonder what ever happened to them."

"The pretty one became a movie star," Klaus says, and takes a sip of coffee.

Diego and Vanya have both completely forgotten about their food. Focused on her exchange with Klaus, Helen apparently hasn't noticed their strange frozen silence yet.

"Oh, that's right!" Helen says. "I saw her in that one with Sandra Bullock, about the teachers who rob the bank. Alisha ... no, Allison. Allison Hargreeves. I'd forgotten she was one of the Umbrella kids! What a weird life story." She goes to sip her coffee, but then puts it down abruptly. "Wait. Hargreeves. Vanya ... isn't that _your_ last name?"

"Um," Vanya manages to say. "Yes."

"That's a ... funny coincidence," Helen says, trailing off a little. Looking at Klaus again, she adds, "And wasn't one of them supposed to be able to see ghosts?"

"Oh, that must be where I got the idea from," Klaus says pertly. "Anyway, what did you think of Allison's movie? I thought the heist sequences were pretty hilarious, but I could've done without all the queerbaiting. Fucking kiss already, am I right? Hey, do you want some bacon?"

"It's okay, Klaus," Vanya says. "You can ... stop."

"Oh, thank fuck," Klaus says, and sinks limply back in his chair. "So does that mean Ben can join the party for realzies? Sorry, Vanvan, he's just been kind of pissed off at you since last night."

"Vanya?" Helen says.

"Okay." Vanya sighs. "Helen. Meet..." she waves her arm vaguely around the table, "approximately four sevenths of the Umbrella Academy."

"I think you're the 'approximately' part," Klaus says to Ben. "Hey, Van, is it okay if I get the typewriter?"

Vanya nods, looking rueful. "At this point, why not?"

Helen watches him go, wide-eyed, and then turns to Vanya. "You can't be serious about this, though. You guys are making a joke? Because of Klaus's tattoo."

Diego makes a wry face and pulls up his sleeve to show her his matching tattoo. "Dad gave them to us when we were twelve years old," he says. "Hurt like a bitch."

"But you don't have one," Helen says to Vanya. Ben supposes, after last night, she'd know.

Vanya's expression goes a little flat. "You haven't figured out who I am?" she asks. "There were only two girls."

"I never paid that much attention," Helen says. "There was the one who talked to ghosts and one who was really strong, right? I don't remember the other powers."

Diego actually laughs. "Seriously?" he says. "She remembers Klaus and _Luther_ , and that's it?"

And then Klaus is back with the typewriter. "Here you go, Benny-boy," he says, setting it in front of Ben. "Go wild." He settles back in his chair, and twines his ankle around Ben's.

Ben smiles, rolls his fingers once in anticipation, and then types, **Hi, Helen.**

He enjoys her sharply cut-off shriek.

"Actually..." Vanya says, "Klaus, do you think you could make Dave and Ben _appear_ for a minute?"

"The blue-light manifestation thing? Yeah, I could give it a go," Klaus says. "Oh! I wanna try hands-free. I think I can handle it." He presses his palms together in front of his sternum. He also unhooks his ankle from Ben's under the table.

Ben frowns. "Klaus, _why_? It's easier if we're touching."

"Shush, Ben. Exactly. I want to challenge myself." Klaus closes his eyes, and a blue glow begins to emanate from between his hands.

"Oh my God," Helen gasps. Her eyes dart between Klaus, Ben, and Dave. "They're really there."

Dave lifts his hand to give Helen a little wave.

Vanya nods. "I'm sorry. This all must be a bit ... disorienting."

"Well, you tried to tell me." Helen's voice is a little strained.

"I don't have a lot of experience introducing people to my family," Vanya admits. "I'm not sure I did a very good job."

Helen shakes her head. "Well, how _would_ you bring it up? In an ideal world. 'Nice to meet you. Want to come over for dinner? By the way, I'm famous and I have superpowers.' I wouldn't have believed you."

"I mean, as far as that goes..." Vanya says. "You really don't remember the details, huh? 'Not pictured, number 7.' I was the not-famous, no-superpowers one."

"Only, psych!" Klaus says, popping his eyes open. They're only glowing a tiny bit blue. "Turns out, she actually does have a power!"

"What _is_ your power?" Helen asks Vanya, without ever quite looking away from Ben and Dave.

Vanya looks slightly uncomfortable. "Manipulation of sound."

"Meaning ... what?"

"Hum something," Vanya tells her.

Helen's mouth curls down. "You know I'm terrible at singing."

"I know," Vanya agrees with a fond little smirk, which interrupts her air of unease. "Still. Just do it."

Helen takes a last leery look at the ghosts, and then turns her attention down to her plate and gamely starts humming. Ben doesn't recognize the tune, but it sounds like something classical. And it's true—unlike her violin-playing, which is spectacular, Helen's humming is thin and a little flat-sounding.

Until suddenly it isn't.

Vanya's eyes glow white-blue for just a moment. Helen's humming becomes rich and resonant and beautiful.

And then cuts off abruptly. "What the _hell_?" Helen exclaims, wide-eyed.

Vanya shrugs it off. "That's a thing I can do."

"She can also knock down trees!" Klaus contributes helpfully.

"You know, I feel like we probably shouldn't admit to the tree thing," Ben mentions. "Like, that was probably a misdemeanor. They were _somebody's_ trees."

"Oh, I can see one of the ghosts talking," Helen says. "But I can't hear him?"

"The special effects are visual only," Klaus says. "Sorry. And actually I don't think Ben wanted me to repeat that bit."

"Correct," Ben says.

"Vanya," Helen says. "What you just did, with my humming. You did it last night, too, didn't you?"

"When we were playing with Klaus," Vanya admits. "Yes."

Helen leans back, raking her fingers through her loose-hanging hair. "Okay," she says. "Okay. So ... you have a superpower. To make music sound amazing." She stops, and gazes at Vanya suspiciously.

"I've lived for the violin since I was twelve years old," Vanya says emphatically. "I only found out I had this power literally three weeks ago."

"It's true," Klaus concurs. "She was mind-controlled and drugged up so she wouldn't find out."

Helen flinches at that, but her frown doesn't quite waver. "The audition?" she asks.

"No!" Vanya practically barks. Her fists clench on the table, before she relaxes them with a visible effort. "I did _not_ use my power at the audition."

"Even though you'd just discovered it? The timing was just a coincidence?"

"When I went off the meds and discovered my power, I also discovered my confidence," Vanya says. "If you'd met me a month ago, you wouldn't have recognized me. You probably wouldn't have _remembered_ me. I was like a scared little mouse. But my God, Helen, I would never cheat in a musical performance. I promise you, what you heard at the audition was all me."

"What's cheating?" Klaus asks, philosophically. "Your power's part of you too, Vanvan."

Vanya gives Klaus a startled glance. So does Ben, actually—because it's so surprising to hear Klaus refer to their powers without bitterness.

And Helen looks thoughtful. "Sorry, I shouldn't have jumped to—well. Music is so fucking _hard_ , you know?"

"Oh, I know," Vanya agrees.

"And there are two _ghosts_ sitting at this table."

That sounds like a non-sequitur, but Ben guesses that Helen is trying to express how overwhelmed she's feeling at the revelations of the past few minutes.

"Ben and Dave," Vanya reminds her.

"So..." Helen frowns more deeply. "This isn't the universe I thought I was in when I woke up this morning.

"Sorry about that?" Vanya hazards.

Helen shakes her head and looks suddenly rueful. "A beautiful woman takes me home, blows apart my understanding of reality, shows me music that is literally magic, and ... I get instantly jealous that she's better than me? Shit, I suck. Vanya, I want to play Bartok's Violin Concerto Number Two with you and see what happens."

Klaus flings his arms out to put his hands over Dave's and Ben's eyes. "Oh my lord, you two!" he says to Vanya and Helen, in a mock-aghast tone. "Not in front of the children!"

Dave laughs. Ben bats Klaus's hand away. (The contact is solid.) "Tell Helen it was nice to meet her, and I hope they have fun at music practice today," Ben says.

"Oh, Ben, keep your dirty mouth to yourself," Klaus says.

Diego lifts an eyebrow. Ben's about to protest the misrepresentation, but realizes that he's still got the typewriter in front of him, and he's almost certainly solid enough to use it. **It was nice to meet you, Helen!** he types. **I enjoyed talking about the Dune series with you last night. If you have any other book recommendations, let me know! Dave and I read a lot, since we don't sleep.**

"Oh, wow, um, okay," Helen says, after she's leaned over to read what he wrote. And then, looking straight at Ben, she says, "Do you like space opera, in general? Maybe try out Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series. They're pretty great."

"Thanks," Ben says.

"You're welcome," Helen replies, without hesitation. She must have read his lips.

Ben beams at her. If she weren't his sister's new girlfriend, he thinks he might have let himself fall in love with her over that exchange. She looked at him, and spoke to him, and he spoke back, and she replied! Why haven't he and Klaus ever done _this_ before?

Ben turns to Klaus to ask, and notices that Klaus has just started tightly hugging himself, and that his bare arms are covered in goose-bumps.

Oh, right. That's why.

* * *

Diego fetches a blanket and the hot water bottle for Klaus. Vanya explains the situation to Helen—how Klaus's power tends to drain him when he uses it that way.

"Does that happen to you, too?" Helen asks, looking a little concerned.

"It hasn't yet," Vanya says. "Honestly, so far I've mostly been working at reining _in_ my power."

"I c-can _see_ g-ghosts all d-day every day," Klaus points out, through his chattering teeth. "It's only g-getting them to _d-do_ stuff that's hard."

"You're definitely getting better at it, though," Dave points out. "You manifested us both for what, like, ten minutes?"

"I think I pushed it over the edge with the typewriter," Ben admits. "Sorry." He hadn't thought to make contact with Klaus before he started typing.

Klaus wiggles his fingers, in an abstract suggestion of a don't-worry-about-it wave. (He's wrapped up in a blanket like a burrito now; his fingers are all that's sticking out.) "Gotta work out those ghost-muscles if I'm ever going to get better at this," he says.

"So, speaking of working out—I've gotta get going to the gym," Diego says. "Klaus, you think you can be ready to leave in ten?"


	24. Chapter 24

Al's at the front desk when they arrive at the gym—watching the news, muted, on his little TV. He looks up at their entrance, and jerks his chin up to beckon them over.

"Hargreeves," he says. "Ah, both of you."

"You can call me Klaus." Klaus smiles at him, a little hesitantly.

"Yeah, okay." Al looks him up and down. "So, listen. Diego tells me you've been seeing a ghost around the gym."

Oh, Ben had forgotten about this—after their visit yesterday, Diego had mentioned that Al had a theory about the ghost's identity.

Ben glances around the gym now, but he doesn't see the boxer.

"Yeeeessss," Klaus says, drawing it out nervously. "I did mention that to him, yup."

Unseen by Al, Dave takes Klaus's hand and gives it a squeeze.

"Say about five-eleven, hundred eighty pounds, black hair, kinda a hook nose?"

"Black and yellow robe, red gloves," Klaus adds. "Sure, sure."

"I think it's Cesar," Al says. "Cesar Ramirez. The last guy who stayed in the boiler room, before Diego."

Diego gives Al a sharp look. "You never told me somebody died back there."

"Nah, nah, he _lived_ there, he didn't die there," Al clarifies. "He died in the hospital. Of a brain bleed. After a fight that should've been stopped three rounds before it was."

"Shit," Diego says. "You never said."

Al gives a dry shrug. "It was fifteen years ago. He was a good friend. Not something I like to dwell on."

Klaus cocks his head, looking curious. "So, like a friend or a 'friend'?" he asks, putting air quotes in the second time. "Just wondering what I'm walking in on, here."

Al gives him a frowning, confused look for a moment. "What the hell do you mean, 'friend'?" he says, mimicking the air quotes. And then his eyes widen in belated comprehension. "Oh, Jesus wept. Get your mind out of the gutter, I'm no fucking f—" He cuts himself off abruptly, before the vowel. Looks at Klaus.

Klaus standing there in his pink-and-purple coat, his black tutu, his emphatic eyeliner.

Ben thinks he can see the wheels turning behind Al's eyes. Whichever f-word Al was about to denounce, Klaus almost certainly is one.

And to his crusty-old-man credit, Al pivots. Backtracks. "Nah, we were buddies, is all," he says more gently. "Anyway. I hate to think about him haunting this place all these years, fucking alone as all hell and hurting. Diego says you can _talk_ to the dead, sometimes?"

"Uh, yeah." Klaus swallows. "Pretty much all the time, really."

"Is Cesar here right now?"

Klaus makes the same visual sweep of the gym that Ben did a few moments earlier. "Nope," he says. "But he also hangs out in the boiler room a lot."

"Ah, okay," Al says. He glances around too; the gym is pretty quiet at the moment, with just one wiry gray-haired man working out over at the free weights. "Let's go, then," he says, and heads for the back.

"Oh, er, ah," Klaus chokes out as he follows inevitably in Al's wake. "Yesterday Cesar—if that's who it was—Cesar and I had a bit of a tussle."

Al stops, and looks back skeptically. "What, like you _fought_?" He snorts. "No offense, kid, but Cesar could break you like a twig."

"My brother's tougher than he looks," Diego murmurs.

But Klaus shrugs it off. "Psh. Thing is, we were on _my_ ground."

"You mean your _body_ ," Ben points out.

"Hey, should we maybe stop and think this through?" Dave asks. "What if this ghost comes at Klaus again?"

"Nah, don't worry," Klaus says. "I can take him."

"Huh?" Al says.

"Oh, uh, he's probably talking to the other ghosts," Diego explains. "I mean, there are a couple who follow him around. It's okay, they're cool."

Sounds like Diego hasn't explained the haunted-by-his-dead-brother thing to Al yet. Ben tries to decide if he's offended. On the one hand—he doesn't necessarily need an introduction to _everyone_ in Diego's and Vanya's lives. And he's not especially interested in getting to know Al, to be honest. On the other hand, it still sucks being invisible and discounted.

And Al, for one, is apparently pretty willing to believe in ghosts.

"Hey Klaus," Ben says. "Could you introduce me to Al? Before we go back there?"

"Sure," Klaus says. And, "Wait!"

Al turns back, his hand already on the handle of the door to the boiler room. "Yeah, what?"

"Ben wants to say 'hi'," Klaus explains. He waves his hand. "Al, Ben. Ben, Al." He looks quizzically at Ben. "Is that what you wanted?"

"Tell him who I am," Ben says.

"Okay, Ben wants you to know that he's our brother," Klaus reports.

"Oh, Jesus," Al says, looking from Klaus to Diego and then to the empty-to-him spot where Ben's standing. "The kid with the tentacles?"

Ben face-palms.

"He didn't _have_ tentacles," Klaus clarifies helpfully. "He summoned a tentacle-monster from another dimension through his belly."

Al nods, taking that in. "All right, then."

"Klaus, just tell him that if his ghost-friend doesn't behave, we're pulling out," Ben says. "I don't want you to put yourself at risk, okay?"

"Yes," Dave agrees. "What Ben said."

"Mmmmkay." Klaus tilts his head and looks at Al. "Ben and Dave are a little worried, since Cesar attacked me yesterday. Nothing I couldn't handle, but. Admittedly, now that he's had the chance to think through his strategy, it might go a little rougher on me if he tries again today."

Now even Diego is looking alarmed. "Hey, maybe we don't need to do this," he says. "Let sleeping ghosts lie?"

"If that's really Cesar," Al says, "he won't hurt you. He was a good man. Had a lot of problems, but he'd never lay a finger on anybody outside of the ring."

"Well, let's find out," Klaus says. He brushes Al aside, and opens the door.

The ghost of the boxer is right there, on the landing just inside the door. He's muttering to himself and knocking his gloves together, pacing in tiny circles.

"Cesar?" Klaus asks. His voice is a little over-bright; he's afraid, but pushing through it.

The ghost looks up, startled. "Yeah?"

Klaus claps Al on the shoulder. "Okay, you were right, it's him."

"Al?" the ghost—Cesar—says, wide-eyed. "You can _see_ me?"

"No, he can't, but I can, and I'm here to—" Klaus waves an airy hand "—mediate." He points a warning finger at Cesar. "No touchy-touchy, though! Behave, and I'll help you talk to your friend. Any shenanigans like yesterday, and I'm kicking your fucking insubstantial ass to the curb. Got it?"

Ben is impressed. Klaus's ghost-jitsu victory over Cesar yesterday really seems to have boosted his confidence. Not that he isn't _scared_ —Ben can see that Klaus is squeezing Dave's hand with a death grip, for one thing—but he's scared and _fronting_ , rather than scared-and-curling-into-a-panicky-ball.

"Cesar?" Al says, looking at the empty-to-him space that Klaus is addressing, and scratching his head. "That really you, man?"

"Jesus, Al," Cesar says. "Yes, it's me."

"He says yes," Klaus reports. "Hey, it's a little claustrophobic up here with all six of us crowded around. Let's go down the stairs, maybe?"

"Six?" Al repeats, skeptically.

"You, me, Klaus, Cesar, Ben, Dave," Diego counts off on his fingers. "You'll get used to it."

They go downstairs, into the empty space where Diego's couch used to be. The kitchen table's still there, and the two chairs. Klaus waves Al into one, and Cesar into the other. "Okay," he says to Al. "I'm going to do a thing. I can't do it for very long, so just—don't freak out."

Klaus backs a few steps away from the table, and clenches his fists. A blue light flickers between his fingers.

Al's jaw drops, and he stares straight at Cesar. "It _is_ you. Jesus, Mary and Joseph." He crosses himself.

Cesar reaches across the table, and Al tries to take his hand, but their fingers whiff through each other.

"Sorry, solid costs extra," Klaus says. "And the audio only goes one way—Al, Cesar can hear you, but you won't be able to hear him. I'll repeat what he says. You've got ten minutes. Go."

* * *

In the end, the conversation is fairly pedestrian. Just a couple of old guys catching up, sharing regrets.

Ben, honestly, tunes it out after the first couple of minutes. He just watches Klaus.

Klaus is standing behind Cesar, a little off to the side. He's hugging himself, arms crossed, and that's a tell as to his discomfort, but he's keeping his tone light. He's doing a reasonably reliable job of repeating Cesar's words without editorializing.

After a while, something unexpected happens.

Dave, who's been hovering near Klaus and looking worried, disappears from Ben's point of view.

And Cesar turns blue and transparent.

No, he doesn't _turn_ blue and transparent—Ben just starts seeing him that way.

Ben has lost his ghost-vision, and he's seeing Cesar the way the living people do—with actual photons, or however that works.

Ben darts forward. "Klaus," he says, "you're getting tired. I think you should stop."

Klaus chuckles, and looks first at Ben and then at the empty space to his right. "Yeah, yeah," he says. "I felt that. Sorry guys, I'll fix it A.S.A.P."

"Huh?" Al says. For him, Klaus's remark would've been a non-sequitur.

"Diego!" Klaus says. "Come over here."

Diego's been transfixed by Cesar's ghost this whole time, but at Klaus's beckoning he zips to his brother's side. "What is it?"

"Yeah, just, um, hold me up," Klaus says.

Diego looks a little alarmed, but he grips Klaus's arms.

" _Bear hug_ ," Klaus instructs him, with a tone of weary patience. And then he tosses over to Cesar and Al, "You might wanna wrap up your reunion. Not sure how much longer I can do this for."

Cesar nods, and says something. Ben can't hear him now that he's blue and see-through.

"He said: 'Well, it was good talking to you Al. I guess I'm going to go now.'" Klaus's voice is tight with suppressed trembling, Ben notices. Diego's standing behind Klaus with his arms wrapped around him now, and he's frowning.

"It was good seeing you, Cesar. I'm just sorry I never knew you were around, before. And I'm sorry as hell about what happened to you." Al's voice is a little tight too, and even gruffer than usual.

Cesar says something else, and Klaus startles a little. Before Klaus can repeat whatever Cesar said, the blue form dissolves into ribbons and vanishes.

"That it then?" Al asks, looking at Klaus. "He gone? What'd he say?"

Klaus starts to laugh. It sounds a teeeeensy bit hysterical. "He said: 'see ya on the other side, maybe,'" Klaus chokes out. "And then he went into the fucking light."

"Went into the light?" Al looks like he's not sure what to make of that phrase.

"Passed over. Gone. He's not coming back. Fifteen years of haunting, and that's all it took to satisfy him! A ten minute chin-wag!" Klaus sags in Diego's arms, giggling and choking.

Al crosses himself again. He seems a little lost.

"Hey, uh, Al?" Diego says around his armful of rapidly-dissolving brother. "Could we have the room for a minute?"

"Sure," Al says, standing up abruptly. "Knock yourself out."

* * *

Diego gets Klaus settled in one of the chairs, and brings him a glass of water. It sloshes over the edge and rattles against Klaus's teeth when he goes to drink it.

"You okay?" Diego asks, settling in the other chair and pulling it closer to Klaus.

Klaus wiggles his bandaged 'hello' hand in a 'so-so' gesture.

Dave is sitting on the edge of the table, looking down at Klaus with evident fondness and concern. "You did really well," he says. "And I think that meant a lot to Al and Cesar."

Klaus pushes the water glass away from himself, folds his arms on the table, and lowers his head.

Diego pats his back, and then starts rubbing it. "Anything I can do to help?" he asks.

"T-tell me I d-didn't throw away my whole fucking life for no reason at all," Klaus suggests, muffling the words into the table.

"Huh?" Diego says, which is also Ben's reaction.

Klaus lets out a little moan. "Ben was riiiiight." 

"Of course I was," Ben says automatically—snatching at _that_ unexpected olive branch before it gets dropped. "About what, though?"

"The only reason ghosts fuck me up so much is because I'm scared of them," Klaus says into the table. " _Dad_ was right. Dad was fucking _right_."

"No," Ben contradicts him instantly—and it comes out in three voices, because Diego and Dave are saying the same thing, at the same time.

Ben and Dave catch each others' eyes, and let Diego continue talking on his own—he can't hear _them_ , and obviously now is not the time to overwhelm Klaus with three people talking at him simultaneously.

"Dad is an asshole," Diego says. "He saw a scared little kid, and he decided the solution was _more fear_. And let's not forget, he could've cut you off from your powers safely at any time by giving you the same drugs as Vanya, and he _didn't_."

Klaus makes a noise; it takes Ben a moment to identify it as a slightly strangled muffled sob. And then there's another one.

"Oh, shit. Buddy. It's okay." Diego looks super uncomfortable, but he keeps rubbing Klaus's back.

Klaus doesn't cry for very long. Ben thinks that he didn't really cry it out this time; rather, he managed to get himself under control and suppress any further weeping. Which is probably not ideal, but it's not like Ben's ever really been good at handling Klaus's emotional breakdowns.

Maybe Dave will manage some supportive-boyfriend magic, when he and Klaus get some alone time. He's watching Klaus now with a sad, thoughtful look.

Klaus sits back up. His eyeliner is horrifically smudged. "Guys, it's okay to tell me I'm a fuck-up when it's _true_ ," he says. "I thought I had to stay high all the time to block out the ghosts. Turns out, A) that's not _exactly_ how my power works, strictly speaking, and B) most ghosts are perfectly reasonable if you just talk to them." He shoots a wan smile at Ben and Dave—the perfectly reasonable ghosts in residence, Ben supposes.

"I mean, I guess it turned out okay with Cesar today," Diego allows. "But he did try to possess you yesterday."

"Cesar, all of Eudora's case files, the people in the forest—there's a pattern emerging here, Diego," Klaus says. He clenches his hands into fists, stares at them, and relaxes them again. "All I had to do was talk to them without panicking."

"That's a big ask," Dave says quietly. "And I don't think all the ghosts you've seen have been as nice as these ones."

Klaus lets out a sharp, bitter laugh. "True," he says. And then to Diego's puzzled look: "Dave thinks I've met some nastier ghosts. He does have a point. I guess with all these guys I've been running into lately, it helps that we didn't personally kill them."

Ben is momentarily confused. Because to his knowledge, Klaus has never killed anyone.

Oh. _We_. Shit.

Klaus never killed anybody, but the Umbrella Academy sure did.

And a whole new _dimension_ of their collective childhood trauma just pops into place.

Diego is hesitating, and Ben wonders if his thoughts are running along the same lines as Ben's own.

"Oh God," Ben says. "Klaus. Did we—was _I_ —when we were teenagers, the people we fought...?"

Something in him just can't quite spit out the specific words. (But he blinks and sees tentacles smashing heads open like melons.)

Klaus's raccoon-smudged eyes widen. "Noooo, Ben, don't worry about that," he says, his words tumbling over each other. "It wasn't your fault! Anyway the place was full of pissed off ghosts from the beginning, not just after the missions started. Evidently Dad's got a long and sordid past. I didn't really know that houses could be angry-ghost-free before I sobered up at Vanya's, to be honest!"

Diego frowns in Ben's general direction (looking through him, as always, of course) and turns sharply back to Klaus. If he hadn't figured it out before, Klaus's message to Ben presumably clued him in. And yes: Diego says, "The people we killed on the missions followed us home." His tone is flat; it doesn't seem like he's looking for confirmation, he's just tasting the words, now that he's thought of them.

"Not _all_ of them," Klaus says. "I mean, some probably went into the light. Or fixated on the places where they died. Or went to check on their widows and children or whatever."

Diego pinches the bridge of his nose, like he's fighting a sudden, intense headache. " _Jesus_ , Klaus," he says. "You never said anything."

"Didn't I?" Klaus frowns. "Pretty sure help-I'm-surrounded-by-vengeful-spirits was my version of 'good night' when we were little."

Diego winces. "The guys we killed, though."

"Oh, by the time we started the missions I'd already figured out how to block out the ghosts," Klaus says, and it sounds like he's trying to reassure Diego now. "I didn't have to bother you guys about it. I could deal with them on my own."

But this just brings them full circle.

"By drinking," Ben points out. "And taking drugs."

"Yeeeeesssss," Klaus draws out.

Diego's eyes flick towards the empty side of the table. "What did Ben say?" he asks. "Or was it Dave?"

"Just Ben pointing out the obvious," Klaus says. "That my ghost-coping strategies from days of yore are no longer on the table. So it's a good thing you're a kinder, gentler vigilante now, who always leaves the bad guys alive!" He shoots Diego a bright, hopeful smile, obviously willing his words to be true.

Diego gives a little start. "Okay, yeah," he says. "Actually. I leave them for the police to pick up. Eudora—she's not a big fan of my work. To the extent that she knows about it at all. But she would throw my ass in jail in a heartbeat if she figured out I'd killed anybody, I know that."

"Good then," Klaus says, looking relieved.

Diego frowns, and leans back. There's a knife in his hands, suddenly—no kind of threat, just a nervous fidget. "I wanted to kill Eddie," he says. "I mean, I held myself back. And then, well. Eudora showed up. But—fuck, seeing how he'd _hurt_ you..."

"I'm glad you didn't kill Eddie," Klaus says slowly, cautiously. Eyeing the knife.

"I can't believe it never occurred to me," Diego says, "that you hated violence because of the _ghosts_."

Klaus lets out a hollow chuckle. "What, did you think I was anti-violence because I was a _good person_?"

"Klaus, you _are_ a good person," Dave says immediately.

Diego, on the other hand, says, "No, I just thought you were scared."

"I _was_ scared!" Klaus snaps, glaring at him. "I've _always_ been scared! So apparently that's my whole problem, and isn't that a fucking kick in the teeth? Because I don't know how to get _un-_ scared without doing more drugs!"

"Klaus," Dave says intensely, sliding down off the table's edge. "Look at me. Come here." He reaches a hand down to Klaus; Klaus takes it, and lets Dave pull him to his feet. Dave slides his hands into Klaus's coat—it's been hanging open since they came into the gym—and tugs him in for a tight hug. Klaus holds himself a little stiff, but squeezes his eyes shut.

"It's okay that you're scared," Dave says quietly, lips near Klaus's ear. (Ben suspects that the words are meant for Klaus alone, but hey, it's not Ben's fault if he still has the great hearing of a seventeen-year-old.) "You came down here and talked to Cesar even though you were scared, and that was incredibly brave."

Diego sits back, watching Klaus, but he doesn't ask what's happening. Ben guesses that either Diego can infer Dave's presence, or maybe this is one of those times when Klaus accidentally makes Dave visible to the living.

"I'm not brave," Klaus says.

"It's not something you _are_ ," Dave says. "It's something you _do_. And I know that doing it when you're so afraid is exhausting, and you've had to do way too much of that." He extracts one hand from Klaus's coat, and cups his cheek, splaying his fingers and letting his thumb rest lightly against Klaus's lips. Ben sees Klaus lean into it, eyes still closed. "I wish I could tell you that it's going to be over soon and you won't have to be scared anymore," Dave goes on. "But I don't think that's how this works. You see the dead. That's just going to be awful sometimes, no matter what."

"I can't handle it," Klaus murmurs into Dave's palm. "I can't. Tell me how to."

"I don't know," Dave says. "But I don't think you should worry about sorting out your entire life. Let's just deal with right now, okay?"

"Right now I want to get high," Klaus half-whispers, half-whines into Dave's hand.

Diego's eyes widen, and he eases himself carefully out of the chair—moving like Klaus is a cat that he doesn't want to startle. "Hey Klaus," he says. "How 'bout we get you changed, and then get you going on the bag."

Dave looks at Diego, and then at Klaus. "Yeah," he says. "I think that's a good idea."

Klaus opens his eyes, finally, and blinks like he's waking up from a nap. "Okay," he says. "I'll try it."

* * *

Before they all leave the boiler room, Klaus changes into the workout clothes that Diego brought for him. After looking Klaus over and frowning, Diego brings him a damp paper towel to wipe away the worst of the smeared eyeliner.

Heading out into the main body of the gym after that, Diego sticks close to Klaus's elbow. He keeps glancing at him with a worried expression every couple of seconds. Dave is on Klaus's other side, holding his hand.

Diego and Dave are both worried about Klaus's slight breakdown and his expressed desire for drugs, Ben infers. As for Ben, he's not worried at all—Klaus _told_ Dave and Diego what he was feeling, and asked for help. He might as well have just flushed a bag of pills down the toilet. Ben is so proud of him.


	25. Chapter 25

"Hey," Klaus says. "Do you smell smoke?"

"What?" Diego's head pops up. "Shit, _yes_ ," he says after a moment, and fumbles with the apartment key.

Dave, who can't smell any more than Ben can, catches Ben's eye. "I'll check," he says, and phases through the wall."

They're all in the little third-floor hallway outside their new apartment. They've just gotten back from the gym.

Dave reappears. "It's fine," he says. "Vanya's got a fire going in the fireplace."

Klaus opens his mouth to report this to Diego, but Diego has just managed to get the key to turn. He throws the door open—and then takes in the scene, and relaxes. "Hey Vanya," he says, tucking his keys back into his pocket and sauntering into the living room like he wasn't panicking a second ago.

Klaus follows, and flops dramatically on the couch (after throwing his coat over the back of it). "Dave and Diego are trying to _kill_ me," he announces. "Hey, nice fire. Gonna toast marshmallows?"

Vanya is kneeling on the tiles in front of the hearth. There's a small crackling fire going on the grate. She's got a stack of typed pages piled next to her knee. She plucks the top one off the stack and feeds it into the fire before she answers. "No, just burning some trash. Dave and Diego are killing you how?"

"He had a good workout," Diego says. "And he's complaining because he doesn't want to admit how much _better_ it made him feel, and how very, very right I am."

Klaus shows Diego a middle finger. Ben notices with bemusement that Dave does not get the same treatment.

(Back at the gym, Diego had brought Klaus over to the heavy bag and coaxed him into an intense fifteen minutes of pounding on it. After that, Diego had to attend to the tasks that Al paid him for, and Dave took over coaching Klaus. He took him through stretching, and a series of exercises with light weights. Klaus lit right up when Dave stood behind him and steadied his arms and corrected his posture. Ben suspects that with Dave as his personal trainer, Klaus might actually be willing to pursue Diego's exercise-therapy idea without quite so much complaining in the future.)

"Oh, that's nice," says Vanya, and lays another page on the flames. The typed words bend and blacken and ignite.

Ben goes closer to look at the papers. His first thought is that she's getting rid of the records of his own conversations with her and Diego—only he'd thought they always just put those out with the paper recycling? But when he glances at the top page, he sees it's written in long paragraphs, not the short lines Ben tends to use when he's using the typewriter for communication.

Oh. Ben knows what this is. "She's burning the book she was writing," he reports out loud.

"What?" Klaus says. "Vanvan? You're burning your book?"

"How—?" Vanya says, glancing across the room at Klaus in momentary confusion. And then her eyes narrow, and she snorts. "Hi, Ben." She flips over the stack of pages so they're blank-side-up.

"Why are you doing that, Vanyaya?" Klaus asks, lifting his head but not his body from the couch. "I was looking forward to reading it."

She shakes her head and feeds a small stack of pages to the flames, ten or so at once. "It was all wrong," she says. "I don't want any of you to ever see it."

"What brought this on?" Diego asks mildly, leaning against the mantle and looking down at her.

She sits back and brushes some hair away from her eyes. "I had a long talk with Helen after you left," she explains. "I ended up telling her ... a _lot_ of stuff about when we were growing up. And whenever I started telling one of the stories that I'd put in the book, I had to fix it to match up with everything I've learned in the past month."

"Because it turns out you have a power after all?" Diego asks.

"That's a pretty big part of it, yeah," Vanya agrees. "And realizing that Dad _knew_ , and every time he told me I was ordinary, he was _lying_ to me." She scowls. "I thought he was _sympathizing_ with me! Him and me, the two ordinary people in a house of superheroes."

The windows pick up a little rattle.

"Breathe, Vanvan," Klaus advises, sing-song, letting his head loll sideways and half off the couch cushions.

She winces, and the rattle stops. "Sorry."

"So you're just now figuring out that Dad is an asshole?" Diego asks. _Too_ mildly. And there's a knife in his hand now, spinning.

Vanya looks up, but it's not like she's going to be intimidated by Diego. Ben flashes on the memory of her standing in the center of a 100-yard circle of knocked-down trees. "Yes," she says simply. "Sorry."

Klaus laughs.

"I was pissed off at all of _you_ when I wrote this," she says, and consigns another few pages to their fiery doom.

"No, that makes sense, we were a bunch of little monsters," Klaus says, still half-upside down. "We treated you like crap."

Vanya smiles a little. "Thanks for saying so. And, um, yeah. You kinda did. But I can see now how Dad isolated me from the rest of you deliberately, so of _course_ it worked out like that. We were all just kids! And anyway, I was so busy being jealous of your powers, I never managed to listen to you and Ben about how miserable you were." She sighs, crumples a page, and tosses it in. "I feel kinda shitty about that now, to be honest."

"It wouldn't have changed anything if you had," Klaus points out. "I still would've done all the drugs. Ben still would've died." He glances at Ben. "I mean, probably. I don't think _Vanya_ could've changed anything about that day."

Ben shrugs, and hugs his belly.

"I understand," Vanya says, "that I couldn't have _fixed_ anything. But at least we all could've been less lonely."

"Nah," Diego says quietly. "I don't think so."

"And yet look at us now!" Klaus chirps, hanging his head nearly upside down.

His interjection works; Vanya and Diego both smile.

"Look at us now," Vanya agrees, like a prayer.

* * *

Vanya keeps slowly feeding the pages to the flames.

Ben is a little curious, to be honest, about what she wrote. And he wonders if his picking-up-books ghost power would let him pluck pages from the remaining stack on the floor. He decides not to, though; Klaus would see him doing it, and he'd probably tell Vanya. Not that Klaus is a tattletale, exactly, but he has no filter.

Klaus picks up the guitar, which was leaning on the coffee table, and starts strumming the opening of "Smoke on the Water". He's sprawled on his back on the couch, with the guitar on his belly. Dave is perched on the back of the couch, looking down at him with an expression that makes Ben blush.

Finally, Vanya drops the last page onto the fire. She watches it curl and blacken and flare and turn to ash. And then she turns to Klaus and asks, with what Ben thinks is bemusement rather than annoyance, "Do you know _any_ other songs?"

"Nope," Klaus says, and switches from the intro to the refrain.

A slight smile tugs at her lips. "Would you like to learn some?"

Klaus looks up with interest. "Do you know how to play the guitar?"

"Sure," Vanya says. "Not at the same level as the violin, but yes. Enough to teach you, anyway."

"Oh!" Klaus perks up, and scrambles into a proper sitting position. He looks at Vanya eagerly.

She sits next to him. "Okay, let's start with—what chords do you know?"

"Ummm, this one," Klaus shows her with his fingers. "And this one, this one, and this one."

"Yeah, okay, that's E major, G major, A major, and B major." Vanya moves a couple of his fingers. "Here, try this one."

Klaus strums, and a new chord resonates. His eyes widen, and he gazes at Vanya adoringly. "That was _amazing_ , Vanvan!"

She bites her lip against laughter, keeping it down to a quiet huff of air, and says, "I think you might be fun to teach."

* * *

Diego makes dinner.

To be more specific: Diego heats two cans of soup in a saucepan. Dave nods at him approvingly, not that Diego can see it.

Vanya and Klaus continue their guitar lesson until Diego calls them to the table.

"Um, hey, Klaus?" Ben says, as Klaus sets down the guitar. "Can I have the dinner, tonight?"

It's been a few days—he missed his turn on moving day, _and_ yesterday because Helen was here (although he did get to have breakfast yesterday, to be fair).

Dave gives Ben a look, but it's not accusing or anything. It's just a look.

"Yeah, sure!" Klaus says. "Sorry in advance for the sore fingers." And then he gives Dave a jaunty wave. "See you on the other side, Davey-poo!"

Dave shrugs, and gives one of his kinda-fond, kinda-sad smiles. "See you later, Klaus."

Then Klaus holds out his arms in invitation, and Ben steps inside.

The apartment is warm, and the soup smells pretty good. It's cream of mushroom, and Diego's toasting some whole wheat bread to go with it.

Klaus was right; his fingers _do_ hurt. Ben looks down at his reddened fingertips in consternation.

Vanya sees him, and laughs. She splays her own left-hand fingers for Ben's inspection. "He'll get calluses, if he keeps it up," she promises. "For now, just think of it as the memory of the music on your fingers."

* * *

The phone rings halfway through dinner.

Ben is closest, but it doesn't occur to him to answer it until Vanya waves him on. "You live here as much as any of us," she points out. "In a manner of speaking."

So, for the first time in nine years (probably much longer, actually, since how often did he ever get calls at the Umbrella Academy?), Ben picks up the ringing phone and says, "Hello?"

"Klaus?" says Allison's voice on the other end.

"No, Ben," he clarifies.

"Oh, hi Ben!" Allison returns cheerfully.

They've talked on the phone a few times before, so this isn't weird. He smiles. "How are you doing? How's Claire?"

At the mention of Claire, Vanya and Diego both relax; now they know who Ben's talking to.

"She's great," Allison says. "But look, I'm actually calling with a message for Klaus."

"He can hear everything you say to me," Ben reminds her. "If you want to talk to him directly, I could step out—but we were in the middle of dinner, so..." He's a little reluctant to give up his turn, to be honest, in case he doesn't get to finish it. What if Allison and Klaus want to have a long conversation?

"No, I'll just tell you," Allison says. "I don't have long to talk—I'm on my break in my trailer, in the middle of a shoot. But I wanted to let him know—ah, Dad read your letter to Luther. Like we figured he would."

Ben feels a jolt of adrenaline at that. Which is an interesting experience, actually, because it's actual chemical adrenaline in Klaus's body, and not metaphor-quality ghost-adrenaline in Ben's. It makes him feel hot and cold and shaky.

"Oh," Ben says.

"And he contacted me," Allison goes on. "And he asked me to tell Klaus that he's pleased to hear that he's finally making some progress with his power, and that he should come home."

"Oh," Ben says, icicles dripping from the word.

"Don't shoot the messenger!" Allison says quickly. "I promised I'd pass it on, so I did. There, done. You don't have to do anything about it." And then before Ben can say anything else, there's a hiss as though the phone is being pressed against fabric, and Allison's voice calls out, muffled and distant, 'Coming, coming! I'll be right there.'

"Okay, well, thanks for telling us," Ben says. "Have a good, um, shoot."

"Thanks!" Allison says. "And sorry! Hope to talk to you again soon, for real next time." And she's gone.

Vanya and Diego look curiously at Ben when he sits back down.

Ben tears a bit of toast, dips it into the soup, and is too pissed off to taste it. "Dad wants to see Klaus," he says after he manages to swallow the bite. "Because of how he's making progress with his power."

"Well, fuck that," Diego says immediately, and suddenly there's a knife sticking out of the top surface of Vanya's table. Ben feels a sharp rush of affection for Diego's impulsive violence.

Vanya eyes the knife, but doesn't say anything. "It's up to Klaus," she points out. "But I can't imagine that he'd want to see Dad."

"Definitely not," Ben agrees. "But—what if Dad comes looking for us?"

"He doesn't know where you are," Vanya says immediately, with confidence. "He _has_ my number. He wouldn't have had to go through Allison if he knew you were here."

And Ben feels another little adrenaline spike. "We shouldn't answer the phone again," he says. "Me or Klaus. _Or_ Diego—Dad knows that Klaus has been seeing Diego, we said that in the letter."

"Well that's..." Vanya stops. Ben suspects that she was about to say something about overkill, but she's looking at his face.

"We should get an answering machine," Diego says. "Screen our calls."

"I think you both might be overreacting a _little_ ," Vanya says gently. "I know it was rough, growing up with Dad. But he didn't interfere with any of our lives after we left, right? Not even Allison, and she's so high-profile."

_Overreacting?_ Ben glares at Vanya. "The mausoleum," he says, pushing his soup away (eating is suddenly unthinkable). "It wasn't just a few times. Dad started locking Klaus in there when he was eight. He didn't stop until he was thirteen."

Vanya looks shocked.

" _Fuck_ ," Diego says, and grinds the tip of the knife harder into the tabletop.

Klaus doesn't even know that Ben knows this. Didn't, anyway, until now. Ben read Dad's notes about Klaus one night over Reginald's shoulder. It was six months after Ben's death. The next morning, Ben suggested to Klaus that they should run away. It only took half a day to convince him.

If Klaus wanted them to know, he could have told them, and he never has. Not when they were kids, and not in the past three weeks, when Diego and Vanya have been witness to his nightly terrors. So one could definitely argue that it was not any of Ben's business to tell them now. It's possible that Klaus will be pissed off at him, when Ben steps out of Klaus's body and Klaus gets his voice back.

But right now, Ben just really _really_ needs everybody to know how very much Klaus is _not_ going back to the mansion to let Dad run experiments on his powers again.

"How could he do that?" Vanya says. "Klaus was terrified of the ghosts."

"You're talking about a man who sent children into combat," Diego grits out. "Nothing you learn about him should surprise you."

Vanya sits back, looking a little ill.

"Ben, buddy, I think you'd better get out and let Klaus weigh in," Diego says. "Since this is _his_ fucked-up life we're talking about. I'll get the typewriter so you can stay in the conversation."

"Okay, thanks," Ben says. He reaches out a hand as Diego stands up to leave. Diego catches his signal and clasps his hand around Ben's (Klaus's) forearm, letting Ben do the same to him. "It's good to know you have our backs," Ben says with feeling.

Diego nods. His expression is dark.

So Diego heads back to their bedroom, to get the typewriter, and Ben does a gentle slide out of Klaus.

Except he doesn't.

He can't get out.

What?

"Hi Klaus," Vanya says gently. "I am so sorry. I had no idea."

Ben shakes his head. "It's still me."

Vanya's eyebrows twitch in surprise. "Oh. Okay. Waiting for the typewriter?"

"No, just a minute." Ben tries again.

Klaus is _holding him in_.

It's the same feeling as when they do their possession combat training and Klaus tries to push him out, except in reverse. It's like Klaus is giving Ben's ghost-form a bear hug _inside_ his body.

"Hey Klaus," Diego says, returning with the typewriter.

"Nope, still me," Ben says.

"Huh?" Diego says. He sets the typewriter on the table. "Something come up?"

"Klaus, let _go_ of me," Ben says, and tries exiting _again_.

There's that same internal bear-hug feeling. This time, Ben tries fighting it—more like squirming out of the hold. For a moment he thinks he's making progress, and then Klaus's grip tightens again. Ben is still firmly inside Klaus's body.

Diego and Vanya are both looking moderately alarmed.

"What's happening?" Diego asks.

"Klaus?" Vanya says. "Ben?"

" _Still_ me," Ben admits. "Klaus is holding onto me. He won't let me out."

Diego's eyes widen. "That's a thing that can happen?"

"Apparently," Ben says. "But it's never happened _before_."

Vanya scratches her head. "So you're stuck?"

"Um." Ben contemplates his current situation, mind racing. "Not exactly," he decides. "I think I could fight my way free, eventually, if I kept trying. But ... I think it might hurt him. The same way it does when I fight to stay inside."

"Should I get the bucket?" Vanya suggests, warily.

"No, I'm not going to fight free," Ben says. "He's going to let me go." He clears his throat. "Right Klaus?" And he tries again to step out.

Firm grip.

Diego looks questioningly at him.

Ben shakes his head.

"Can you ask why he's holding you in?" Vanya asks.

"Unfortunately, no." Ben frowns. "When I'm possessing him, he can't communicate with me at all. I can't even _feel_ him unless he's fighting me. The rest of the time, it's as though I'm alone in the body. Except not really, because I know he's there and I know he sees and hears and feels everything."

"Okay, this isn't exactly the mystery of the lost ark," Diego says. "Klaus is scared because Dad wants to see him. So he's hiding."

That is, in fact, also the conclusion that Ben's come to.

"Klaus, we _just_ said that nobody expects you to go see Dad," Ben points out. It's a little weird, trying to lecture his brother from _inside his body_. All Ben can do is stare off into the distance and frown. "And I think Diego would probably hold Dad off with his _knives_ if he came for you here."

Diego nods grimly. Ben has absolutely no sense that he's bluffing.

Ben tries again to slip away. Nope. "He's still not letting me out," he reports.

"Maybe Dave could talk to him?" Vanya suggests.

"Nobody can see Dave when I'm possessing Klaus," Ben reminds her. "I can't use Klaus's power. And neither can Klaus when I'm in the driver's seat."

"Klaus," Diego says. Looking at Ben, which feels weird. "Dave is probably worried about you. You should let Ben out, so we can all talk."

Ben attempts an exit. Aaaaand ... nope. "Still me."

"Maybe if you just try a _little_ harder?" Vanya suggests.

"Klaus, please don't make me hurt you," Ben says. "Just let me out." And he tries again.

Klaus is holding onto him _really_ hard. The whole thing is pretty abstract and hard to put words to, but if pressed, Ben thinks he would describe Klaus's hold as 'desperate.'

Ben stops fighting, again. "Shit," he says. "We have a problem."


	26. Chapter 26

"So is there _any_ way we can talk to Klaus?" Vanya asks.

They've all moved out to the living room. Their dinner is only half-finished, but nobody can think about eating now.

Ben's perched on the edge of the armchair, and Diego and Vanya are staring at him from the couch.

"We can talk to him all day," Ben points out. "You're talking to him right now. He just can't talk back."

And isn't this a weird reversal of Ben's and Klaus's normal roles. The ironic symmetry is not lost on Ben.

"Right," Vanya agrees. "Sorry, I know. I meant the other way around. Can you at least, like, get a sense of how he's feeling?"

Ben shakes his head. "I literally can't sense anything from him except when we're fighting over whether I'm in or out of his body. I don't have any access to his mind or emotions." And Klaus doesn't have access to Ben's, either—this is a thing that they've chatted about on other days, post-possession, and the fact has always been a big relief to both of them. Now it's a little frustrating.

"Okay, well, we just have to talk him out of this freak-out," Diego says. "Klaus. If Dad tries to take you back against your will, I will kill him. How's that?"

Ben winces. "Um, Diego. Ix-nay on the illing-kay." He's being a little facetious, but actually when they were kids if they talked fast in Pig Latin, Klaus couldn't follow it.

"Shit, right," Diego says.

Vanya blinks. "Huh?"

"If I kill Dad, he gets to haunt Klaus forever," Diego clarifies. "Okay, I won't kill him. If he tries to take you, Klaus, I will _hurt_ him. But I'll leave him alive."

Ben is finding Diego's violent protective promises very soothing. But actually maybe Klaus wouldn't. "Nobody needs to hurt anybody," Ben says. "You're a legal adult, Klaus. Dad can't make you come home. If he shows up here, we can go to the police and get a restraining order. I bet Eudora would help."

Diego nods.

Ben thinks maybe he just made a winning point, so he tries again.

Nope. Still stuck.

"How about we finish dinner," Vanya suggests. "Maybe Klaus just needs a little time to calm down."

It's as good a plan as any.

* * *

Klaus still won't let Ben out after dinner. Ben shrugs, and picks up a book to read. He's momentarily startled when the actual book comes away in his hands, instead of a ghost-duplicate copy.

Vanya settles to practicing on her violin. Diego stays in the living room with them, fiddling with his knives and watching Ben (Klaus) with concern.

Ben figures, eventually Klaus will get _bored_ , right?

He deliberately chose a book of Vanya's that seems like it wouldn't appeal to Klaus—a compendium of short biographies of classical composers. Determinedly, he reads it, and at the end of every page he attempts to slip away.

No dice. Klaus's grip is as hard as ever.

Eventually, it's the time that they would normally go to bed.

"Okay, he's being a chicken-shit," Diego says. "You're just going to have to fight your way out. You _can_ , right?"

"I think I can," Ben hedges.

"Um," Vanya says. "Maybe you shouldn't?"

"I don't think it'll hurt him any _worse_ than our usual possession-fights," Ben says. "I mean, I guess you should get the bucket, though."

"It's just," Vanya says, "if he really doesn't want you to leave, maybe it would be better if you didn't. For now."

"It's been four hours," Ben says.

She looks thoughtful. "Does it hurt you? Staying in him for a long time?"

Ben shakes his head.

There's some discomfort, but nothing like in the early days when Klaus's body hurt every time he breathed. This evening the fingertips on his left hand are annoyingly sore from the guitar lesson, the day-old cut on his right hand sends out a dull, steady ache, and there's a general heaviness to all his limbs which Ben thinks is due to the morning workout. Also, for the past hour he's felt an increasingly strong need to pee—which isn't something that he's ever had to take care of in Klaus's body before, and the idea of doing so is a little embarrassing.

Actually, maybe that's his out.

"Klaus, we need to pee," he says out loud. "Is that really something you want me doing _for_ you?"

Vanya chokes down a startled laugh.

Ben tries to exit. And it almost works. He has a quick flash of feeling not-quite-embodied; but then the yank at his ghost-waist is back, and he's firmly still inside of Klaus.

"Still me," Ben sighs.

"So, maybe that's okay," Vanya says. "Hearing that Dad wants to see him was a shock, obviously. He's not feeling safe. Maybe, as long as you're willing, you should just stay in there until morning. He'll probably feel better in the morning."

"Morning." Ben looks at her, dumbfounded. "I'm not sure I can _sleep_. Like, literally. Ghosts don't sleep. I've been conscious for the past nine years straight."

"So maybe you can get out when _he_ falls asleep," Diego suggests. He shrugs, and yawns. "Worth a try."

* * *

So. Ben changes into the set of Diego's sweats that Klaus has been using for sleepwear. He carefully brushes his teeth (getting gobs of toothpaste on the sleeves of the shirt, oops; he'd forgotten how _complicated_ all this physical stuff was), changes the bandage on his right hand (the cut is healing cleanly), and washes the smeared remnants of eyeliner off Klaus's face. Squirming with embarrassment and trying not to think too hard about it, he relieves his bladder. (And sure feels a lot better afterward.)

"Do you want the lights on or off?" Diego asks, when Ben joins him in the bedroom.

"On," Ben says immediately. "He's not going to want to come to in the dark."

"Okay," Diego agrees. And then eyes his cot. "Are you going to want to cuddle?"

Good question. A polite 'no thanks' is on Ben's lips, but then he realizes: "It'll probably make Klaus feel safer." And maybe he'll let Ben _out_.

So Diego and Ben climb onto the cot together, and—a little awkwardly—arrange themselves, with Diego as big spoon and Ben (Klaus) as little spoon.

"Okay, seriously Klaus," Diego says next to Ben's ear. "I've got you. No more fuckers are going to hurt you in _any way_ while I'm around. Anyway, I'll take the living ones—Ben and Dave will take the dead ones."

It seems like a good moment, so Ben tries again to break free. But ... "Nope," he tells Diego a moment later. "He's still holding on with a death grip."

Diego lets out a little snort. "No pun intended?"

"Seriously not," Ben sighs.

There's silence for a few moments. Well, mostly silence—Ben can hear Diego's soft breathing, close to his ear.

Diego's arm is heavy, slung over Ben's waist. Ben's as pinned-in on the outside as he is on the inside.

It isn't a bad feeling, being held by Diego. Actually, it's kind of nice.

"My life has sure gotten a lot weirder since you guys came back into it," Diego says into the silence.

"Ours have gotten a lot _better_ ," Ben says. "Since you did."

Diego breaths in and out in a sharp little sigh. "Yeah," he agrees after a moment. "Mine too."

* * *

It turns out: Ben can sleep.

When he's possessing Klaus, he can, anyway. He drifts off quickly, and startles awake sometime later.

Returning to consciousness for the first time in nine years is really unsettling. He's suddenly grateful for the always-on lights; the disorientation might have been overwhelming, if he'd come to in the dark.

As it is, he feels his heart (Klaus's heart) thudding uncomfortably in his chest. He breathes slowly, and tries to get it under control.

Honestly, Diego's heavy, sleepy weight tucked behind him is pretty comforting.

So anyway ... maybe Klaus is asleep now? Or bored? Ben tries to slip away.

Nope. Still firmly held.

"Klaus, why won't you let go?" Ben whispers. "Nothing bad is going to happen."

Try again. Nope.

And after a while, Ben drifts back to sleep.

* * *

Four days later, Ben is still stuck in Klaus.

The first day, he spends a lot of time talking to Klaus. Coaxing, cajoling, comforting—anything he can think of that might convince his brother that it's safe to come out again.

Nothing works.

The second day, Ben changes strategies: instead of _asking_ Klaus to let him go, he tries to take him by surprise. Like, in the middle of putting on socks, or ten minutes into washing the dishes.

No luck. Apparently Klaus is alert and constantly on guard.

The third day, Ben tries to _annoy_ Klaus into letting him go. He dresses in baggy, dull clothes borrowed from Diego. He goes to the library and spends nearly the whole day browsing the stacks.

But every time he tries to slip away, Klaus holds on tight.

At least it's a pleasant, quiet way to spend the day. He gets a library card (in Klaus's name, which feels subtly dishonest, but what's his alternative?). He picks up _Shards of Honor_ , the first book in that series that Helen recommended the other day at dinner.

The evening of the third day, Ben tries blackmail. He stands in front of the bathroom mirror with a razor in his hand and shaving cream smeared over his face, and threatens to shave off Klaus's beard if Klaus won't let him go.

And then he tries stepping out, and finds himself gripped as firmly as ever.

He puts the razor down and washes the shaving cream away. He was only bluffing anyway. He wouldn't do that to Klaus.

* * *

Helen's been back a couple of times. She pops by for a short visit on the second day, and on the third day she stays for dinner and sleeps over. They let her know that Klaus is currently Ben, of course—it would be weird not to—but they don't explain the trauma-related details.

Things seem to be going well between Helen and Vanya. Ben is happy for Vanya.

"In a way, you know, this is all because of you and Klaus," she points out to Ben. "If he hadn't stolen my pills, and if you hadn't figured out what it meant that they blocked his powers—God, I might never have known. I might never have had this chance to find out who I am."

Ben gives her a hug. And, mid-hug, tries to exit Klaus.

Klaus clings to him firmly.

Oh well, it was worth a try.

* * *

On the fourth day, Ben doesn't even have a strategy. He just goes through the day like an alive person.

He accompanies Diego to the gym for the first time since the whole unending-possession thing started. And since Ben's embodied anyway, they spar. It's a lot of fun. Diego goes easy on Ben, of course. Klaus's body is still not in great shape, and obviously neither of them wants to _damage_ it.

They get burritos from the food truck for lunch, and fall into chatting about their memories from childhood. They manage to avoid getting maudlin—they talk about Mom, and Pogo, and the dorkiest, goofiest things they can remember any of their siblings doing.

In the afternoon, Ben sits in the living room and reads _Shards of Honor_ out loud.

He feels bad about the fact that he hadn't, up to this point, thought about doing anything to make Dave more comfortable. Since Dave is invisible and unable to communicate or affect anything in the world, it's easy to forget about him. But Ben, of all people, knows what it's like to be unseen and discounted.

Technically, Ben doesn't even know if Dave is with him now. But he strongly suspects that Dave hasn't let Klaus('s body) out of his sight since the first night.

Reading out loud in a physical body turns out to be harder than doing it as a ghost. After just three hours, Ben's voice is getting hoarse and his throat is sore.

He finally closes the book on a cliffhanger of a chapter ending, and says to the empty room, "Hey Klaus, if you want to know what happens next, you're going to have to let me go and read it for yourself." And then he tries slipping out.

Nope.

Okay, not that Ben had really expected _that_ to work, but it would've been kind of funny if it had.

* * *

When Vanya gets home from her rehearsal, she invites Ben and Diego into the kitchen and teaches them how to make lasagna.

"Okay," Diego says when they eventually slide it into the oven. "I think I could do that again."

"High five," Ben suggests, and they do it. "Look at me, nine years postmortem, learning to cook."

"You're doing pretty well at this being-alive thing," Vanya says. "Considering how out of practice you are."

"There's a lot to adjust to," Ben says, leaning against the kitchen counter. " _Needing_ to eat—I mean, I love it whenever Klaus lets me step in for a meal, I missed experiencing _taste_ so much, but jeez, alive people have to eat like _three times a day_! It's a lot! Oh man, and sleeping. A third of the day, just _gone_!"

"It's true," Vanya concedes, looking bemused. "We do spend an awful lot of our time just ... _staying_ alive."

Ben shrugs. "I'm getting used to it, I guess."

"Don't get _too_ used to it," Diego says. In a mostly-joking tone, but looking wary. "We're gonna coax Klaus out from under his rock _soon_."

"Yeah, don't worry," Ben says. Keeping his tone light too, but this is important. "I'm not going to move in permanently. This is Klaus's body. I'm out of here as soon as he lets me go."

Diego swallows. He's got some emotions about this, Ben observes. "Ben, man, I missed you so much," Diego says. "I wish I could have you, and Klaus too."

"We do okay, though, with the typewriter," Ben points out. "I've been really happy since we came here."

"God, it must have been so rough going nine years with nobody to talk to except occasionally Klaus," Vanya says. "I think if I were you I'd be wanting to hang on to Klaus's body for as long as he'd let me."

It sounds like an idle hypothetical on her part, but Diego looks uneasy again.

Ben wonders how Klaus is feeling, listening to this.

"I really, _really_ appreciate Klaus letting me possess him once in a while so that I can be fully with you two, and experience the physical world," Ben says. "But there is absolutely no way I want to live in his body full-time. It's actually getting kind of uncomfortable, the longer I stay in here. I think the technical term is dysphoria? This body isn't me. It doesn't feel right. Every time I look in the mirror I feel like I'm falling sideways."

"But with time," Diego says, fidgeting with a knife that he's pulled out without Ben noticing, "maybe that would go away."

_Will you give up trying to free Klaus, and just inhabit his body and take a second chance at life?_ That's Diego's subtext.

Ben needs to convince Diego _and_ Klaus that that's not in the cards.

"Noooo," Ben says. "It's not like borrowing somebody else's clothes. Look, obviously this whole possession thing puts a certain spin on the mind-body dualism hypothesis." Vanya nods like he's said something smart; Diego just looks confused. Oh well, pushing on. "But the body isn't _irrelevant_. Like, okay. You know how Klaus is genderqueer?"

Blank looks from both siblings. Oops.

"No?" Vanya says.

"What the hell does that mean?" Diego says.

Right, come to think of it, that's language that Klaus picked up in the years after he left the Umbrella Academy. The past few weeks have been intense, and Ben forgets sometimes that Vanya and Diego still barely know Klaus as an adult.

Shit, okay, 101 explanation time. "He doesn't exactly identify as male," Ben says. "Or female. But like, somewhere in between—and not always in the same place."

Vanya runs her fingers along the tiles of the kitchen counter, frowning gently. "Is this something _you_ should be telling us?" she asks.

"Klaus, do you want to come out and take over this conversation?" Ben asks, and tries to step out of Klaus.

Klaus's grip is as firm as ever.

Ben shrugs. "It's not something he hides," he says. "I guess it just hasn't come up yet, with you."

Diego shakes his head. "I don't get that. I mean, okay, Klaus is weird, and he doesn't really fit into boxes. That's fine; we love him. But—what does this have to do with his body? I mean, I've seen him naked way more often than I'd like, and he's definitely a guy."

Ben winces. (So does Vanya, he notices.)

But also, it's not like Ben hasn't been guilty of the same mistake—and in fact, that's what he was _trying_ to address when he first brought up Klaus's gender identity. "I always believed Klaus," Ben says, "when he told me he wasn't really exactly a guy. But I assumed that it was, um, more of a philosophical stance? That he thought traditional gender roles were fucked up and he just didn't want to play along. Turns out, no. It's physical, too. Now that I'm him, I can feel it."

Diego looks perplexed. "I _really_ have no idea what you're getting at."

Vanya appears more thoughtful. "You're talking about ... something hormonal?"

Ben shrugs. "I guess, maybe? Anyway, it's ... a little uncomfortable. For me. That's who _he_ is, it's not who _I_ am."

"So you need to get out," Diego infers.

"Yes. No." Aagh, this is complicated. Ben wants Klaus to let him out. But he doesn't want to suggest to Klaus that his body is _wrong_. "I mean _yes_ , I need to get out. But not because of that. It's only a little uncomfortable. I need to get out because as long as I'm in Klaus's body, Klaus isn't here, and I fucking _miss_ him." His voice (which is _Klaus's_ voice) cracks a little on that last phrase.

"We miss him too," Vanya says.

_Not like I do,_ Ben is tempted to say, but it would probably be fucked-up to make it into a contest. "This is the longest I've been apart from him in my entire life, _counting_ the nine years I've been dead," Ben tells her.

Vanya cocks her head. "I'm not sure I'd describe your situation right now as ... _apart_ , exactly."

Well, true. Ben tries a little sideways ghost-move out of Klaus, almost absently—as he's been doing every few minutes, all day—and feels Klaus's tight hug. "It's been four days since I've heard his voice," Ben points out. "I want to know what he thinks about Allison's new movie poster that we—I—saw on the way to the library yesterday. I want to watch him getting another guitar lesson from Vanya. I want to gossip with him about your love lives."

"What love life?" Diego mutters, but Ben knows that Diego went to see Eudora again yesterday evening, and he _knows_ that Klaus will have theories about that.

"I want to know he's _okay_ ," Ben finishes plaintively.

"But we do know he's here," Vanya points out. "We know he's safe. He'll come out eventually."

Diego frowns. "Will he, though? We know Klaus's first choice for dealing with a problem is to run from it. He stayed high for, what, ten years? Longer? To run from the ghosts. And now he's found a dark little corner he can hide in, and he knows Ben's going to keep him safe—guys, I'm not sure I'm seeing his incentive to come out."

"Well, he'll have to get tired of being a helpless passenger in his own body _eventually_ , right?" Vanya suggests.

"Um," Ben hedges warily. "He said one time that being possessed by me was like a peaceful dream where everything feels very remote. It actually worried me, when he said it, because it reminded me of how he'll describe an opioid high."

"Shit." Diego scrapes the heel of his hand along his left eyebrow, wincing. "Ben," he says, "I think you've just gotta pull out, if you can."

Ben is coming to the same conclusion. But he tries one more time. "Klaus, _please_?" he says. "Just let me out so we can talk. You're not going to have to face Dad. I want my brother back."

He tries to ease out, but Klaus holds on.

Ben pulls harder.

"I still don't think this is a good—okay, _wait_ , I haven't even got the bucket out," Vanya says, crouching down to fetch it from under the sink.

Ben doesn't pay any attention to Vanya; she'll get the bucket in time or she won't, it's not his main concern. He's decided that enough is enough, and he has to follow through before his resolve falters. He pulls as hard as he can in one direction, and then suddenly without warning switches to the opposite side. The tactic seems effective; he feels Klaus's grip slip a little. Ben isn't free yet, so he reverses again, and then again—thrashing now inside of Klaus, battering away at Klaus's ghostly arms.

And then it feels like something snaps.

Ben flies out sideways.

He skids right across the kitchen linoleum and fetches up against the opposite cupboards. They're solid only because he decides, as they rush up to meet him, that he doesn't want to phase through them.

Gravity's gone, replaced by a light steady tug in the direction of Klaus. Smell is gone, and he's lost his sense of the kitchen's warmth.

His body, such as it is, is his own. His black hoodie. His darker, steadier hands.

From his position sprawled on the floor, he looks back at Klaus.

Klaus's eyes have rolled up to show mostly white, and his body is arched, rigid, and shaking.

Diego is already reaching for him.

Vanya stands by, holding the bucket loosely, but it doesn't look like she'll need it.

Klaus is falling, but Diego's got him. Diego gets him lowered gently to the floor, more or less on his side, and keeps him clear of the edge of the cupboards.

Klaus is _still_ shaking. How long has it been? Probably not more than ten seconds. Time always seems to move very slowly when Klaus has these seizures.

Ben curls himself up into a sitting position, arms tucked around his knees, and watches, biting his lip.

Klaus's head is knocking against the floor. "Vanya, gimme your shirt," Diego says, sliding his hands underneath Klaus's head to try to cushion it.

Vanya quickly shrugs off the flannel shirt she was wearing as a second layer. She folds it, and tucks it under Klaus's head.

Ben glances at the clock on the wall. It's been 30 seconds now, maybe 45; Ben's not sure exactly where the second hand was when he popped out of Klaus.

"So I guess it worked," Diego says, eyeing Klaus's shaking form.

"I still think we should've waited until he was ready," Vanya says.

Diego works his jaw. "Sometimes with Klaus you've just gotta do stuff for his own good."

"Mm," Vanya murmurs noncommittally. She sits back against the cupboards, far enough from Klaus that the stray thrashing of his limbs won't hit her, and watches him.

A minute. A minute and a half. Two minutes. Three.

Diego's looking pretty worried now. "Should we be _doing_ something?"

Vanya shakes her head. "I looked up first aid for seizures after I realized he was going to have one every time he and Ben practiced fighting. We're doing everything we're supposed to do. Just make sure he stays on his side."

At about three minutes and forty-five seconds, Klaus goes limp.

"Jesus," Diego breathes out. "That was a bad one."

Ben hugs his knees, watches Klaus, and hopes he hasn't made a terrible mistake.


	27. Chapter 27

Klaus is still unconscious when the timer goes off to take the lasagna out of the oven.

"It's been nearly an hour," Diego frets. "What's the longest he's ever been out before?"

"I think about twenty minutes?" Vanya says, opening the oven door.

"I'm going to try to wake him up," Diego decides. "Maybe he fell asleep." He reaches out—he's already next to Klaus, he's been sitting there for the past half hour—and gently shakes his shoulder. "Klaus? Time to get up, man."

No response.

Klaus has a pillow under his head now, and a blanket draped over him. Diego and Vanya had a short conversation earlier about whether to move him to somewhere more comfortable, but Diego was worried about dead-lifting him off the floor when he was limp and possibly hurt.

Vanya sets the steaming lasagna pan on the kitchen counter, and steps back from it, frowning. "I think we should be considering taking him to the hospital."

"No," Diego counters quickly. "No hospitals if we can possibly avoid it."

"Are you worried about Dad finding out? I really don't think he'd go to the trouble."

"Oh, that's _another_ reason to keep away," Diego says. "No, I meant because of the ghosts. Klaus will absolutely freak out if he comes to in a hospital."

This is true, historically speaking. And it's the reason Diego's had so much experience spoon-feeding Klaus. Every time he got called to the hospital as Klaus's emergency contact following an overdose, he watched Klaus wake up into a barely-controlled (or not-at-all controlled) panic. So Diego—every time—signed Klaus out early against medical advice, and cared for him conscientiously until Klaus got strong enough to run away and get high again.

"We can deal with that when he wakes up," Vanya says. "My concern right now is making sure that he _does_." She settles down to kneel on the floor, next to Diego. "Check his pulse again."

Diego cups a hand at Klaus's chin to ease his head back, and presses two fingers to the pulse point on his neck. "Still up around two hundred beats a minute," he says after a bit.

"And that's bad. _You_ told me that it's bad."

Diego shrugs. "I said it'd make more sense if he was in the middle of a heavy workout. I don't get why he's not waking up. But he's not getting any _worse_. I think we should just let him be."

"You couldn't just let him be _before_ ," Vanya snaps.

Diego bristles. "Excuse me if I wasn't ready to let him just _disappear_. Anyway, Ben obviously agreed with me, and he knows Klaus better than anybody."

Vanya looks angry (it's an unfamiliar look on her), but she doesn't pursue that line of argument. "We're not equipped to decide if he's getting worse or not," she says instead. "He needs medical attention. If you won't take him to a hospital, we've got to bring him to Mom."

"Can you think of any way to do that without letting Dad get his clutches on him?" Diego bites out. "Because if you can, _please_ let me know."

"No, I can't," Vanya says. "But those are the options: Mom, or a hospital. Pick one."

"The hospital," Ben says immediately, not that he gets a vote.

Diego turns a stubborn face to Vanya's fierce expression—and then, after a few seconds, wilts. And switches to bargaining. "Give him one more hour? To wake up on his own?"

Vanya hesitates, and then nods. "Deal."

* * *

The emergency ward is festooned with Christmas decorations.

Ben always forgets about Christmas. They didn't celebrate it, growing up, and their interactions with the outside world were so limited that they barely noticed it going by.

Klaus is lying on a gurney in a curtain-defined examining space. Vanya and Diego are hovering close to him, looking tense and worried.

The doctor who's just arrived in the space is young and harried. She looks a little familiar; she must have been on duty some previous time Klaus landed here. She glances at the notes from intake, and then turns to Vanya and Diego. "What did he take?"

"Huh?" Vanya says. "Nothing. We explained it all to the triage nurse—he had a seizure at around quarter past five for no reason we could see, and he hasn't woken up since then." Vanya and Diego had decided, on the way to the hospital, that 'had a seizure for no reason' was a preferable story to 'had a seizure following a four-day possession experience and ghost-combat,' and probably wouldn't compromise Klaus's treatment.

The doctor frowns impatiently. "Look, I _know_ Klaus," she says. "He's been here before. You don't have to worry—he won't be in any trouble and neither will you. We're only required to report evidence of _violent_ crimes to the police."

"He didn't take anything," Diego insists, glaring at the doctor.

"He really didn't," Vanya adds, in a more conciliatory tone. "He's been sober for a month."

"Hm," the doctor says. "Okay. I'm going to order up a tox screen. Was this the first time you're aware of him having a seizure?"

Diego's 'yes' and Vanya's 'no' are simultaneous.

The doctor gives them an understandably skeptical look, and Ben face-palms.

"He's had something like ten or fifteen in the past month," Vanya says. "But usually they're only a few seconds long and he wakes up pretty soon afterwards."

"And before that?"

Vanya looks at Diego—who's just frowning, watching her—and then shrugs. "I hadn't seen him in years," she says.

"Do you have any idea what might be triggering the seizures? Or did Klaus say anything about it?"

"No," Vanya says, not betraying the lie by so much as a twitch.

The doctor makes a note on her pad. "All right. I'm going to see about getting him an MRI."

She leaves, and Diego rounds on Vanya. "Why did you tell her all that? It's not like we need to find out if he has epilepsy or something. We know what triggers the seizures, it's the freakin' possession. We don't need the doctor to diagnose him, we just need her to _wake_ him _up_."

Vanya doesn't back down. "The cause may be supernatural, but the effects are physical. For all we know, every one of those seizures could have been damaging Klaus's brain."

Diego looks worried.

And Ben? Ben feels _nauseous_.

(It's only a metaphor. Ghosts can't throw up.)

Ben tries to think—over the course of the past few weeks, has he noticed any decline in Klaus?

He has a unique perspective, given that he's been able to observe Klaus from both the inside and the outside.

And he's pretty sure that the answer is 'no'—Klaus's state has been steadily improving since they landed with Diego.

But then, that's a low bar; Klaus was practically _dead_ when Diego scraped him off the floor of the coffee shop. Is it possible he's been healing old wounds but taking new damage at the same time?

Damage that Ben has been causing him?

There have been a few headaches. Anyway, Ben's experienced a few, and there might have been more that Klaus never told him about; Klaus is so used to feeling shitty that he doesn't tend to mention it.

"Klaus, I'm so sorry," he says, reflexively pulling the hood of his sweatshirt down over his eyes, because even if there's nobody who can see him, right now he needs to hide. "I never wanted to hurt you."

* * *

The doctor comes back after a while and asks Vanya to sign some forms authorizing the MRI.

Diego goes bug-eyed, and as soon as the doctor leaves again, says to Vanya in a strangled whisper, "You signed your _name_."

She blinks at him. "Um, yes?"

"You were supposed to give a pseudonym."

"What? You never said anything about that."

"Because I thought it was _obvious_."

Vanya shakes her head. "It's fine, it's not going to get back to Dad. Medical records are private."

"That's not what I'm worried about." Diego leans close to her ear and whispers, looking extremely distressed, "Now they're going to know where to send the _bill_."

Her eyes widen. "I didn't think of that."

Diego moans a little, and leans away from her.

"I gave them our address at intake," she adds. "When I filled out the forms. You were so focused on Klaus, I thought I should take care of it."

"Shit, shit, _shit_ ," Diego swears softly. He takes Klaus's right hand between both of his, and bows his head over the gurney. "We are so _fucked_ ," he murmurs.

"Dad ... pays for my prescription," Vanya ventures after a moment, letting the words fall weakly.

"Of course he fucking does," Diego groans.

"I mean, he would, he could pay the bills for Klaus, it would be pocket change for him," Vanya says. "We wouldn't have to tell him where Klaus _is_...."

"Oh, like he wouldn't find out?"

"Okay, yes, he probably would," Vanya concedes. "But ... I mean is that totally unacceptable? He's not going to come sweeping in to _kidnap_ Klaus."

"How do you fucking know what he'd do? That man doesn't answer to anybody."

"The way he raised us—" she stops, frowns, and corrects herself, "— _you_ , the way he raised the six of you, the training, the missions, it was harsh. But he's not actually a monster."

Diego chokes out a raw laugh. "So what, you're about to forgive him for mind-controlling you and drugging you and lying to you your entire life? You gonna go to him and volunteer to let him experiment on _your_ power now?"

She presses her lips whitely together for a moment before shaking her head. "No, sorry, you're right. I wouldn't want to do that. I just don't see any other way out of this."

"I haven't been able to stop thinking," Diego says, "about what Ben told us. About Dad locking Klaus in the mausoleum. Going on for _years_. And the nightmares Klaus has...." Diego hunches his shoulders. He's still holding Klaus's limp hand. "You know, I always assumed that fundamentally, Klaus was fucked up because of his power. Because seeing ghosts is an inherently terrifying experience. And, I mean, that sucked. But ... since he got sober, he's been learning to _cope_ with the ghosts. So maybe it was never really about his power. Klaus is fucked up because Dad fucking abused him."

Ben rolls his eyes. "You're _just_ getting that now?"

Vanya twitches at Diego's last words, but she doesn't contradict them.

Ben thinks that if he gets to talk to Diego and Vanya again—shit, no, _when_ he gets to talk to Diego and Vanya again—he might try bringing them back to this point and making sure they've thought through the implications.

He'll try not to be snarky about it.

There are some things that just get more clear once you're dead. Diego and Vanya can't help it that they're still alive, and caught up in all the messy emotional entanglements inherent in that state.

Dad abused _all_ of them. Klaus, for a variety of reasons, just caught it worse than anyone else. For the past nine years, Ben's been watching Klaus slowly dying from it.

(Ben, of course, _did_ die. Nine years ago. And that's on Dad too.)

"This doesn't change the fact," Vanya says, "that we're about to get hit with a massive medical bill. And we don't have any way to pay it without Dad. We don't know any other billionaires."

Diego looks up sharply, eyebrows raised. "No," he says. "We don't. But we _do_ know a millionaire."

* * *

Allison doesn't even hesitate. She just tells Vanya to send her the bills.

This is after a couple of minutes of Vanya relating the events of the past four days—everything since Allison's last phone call—ending with the seizure and the hospital.

Ben's standing close enough to hear Allison's voice through the receiver. He hates being out of sight of Klaus, but Diego's still with Klaus so Klaus is as safe as he can be, and Ben really wanted to know how Allison would respond to this call.

Allison seems horrified about the role she played in Klaus's current crisis. "It didn't occur to me that just _hearing_ that Dad wanted to see him would send him over the edge."

"I mean, we don't really know _what_ it did to him," Vanya points out. "We haven't seen him since then. But look, you couldn't have known."

"Call me," Allison makes Vanya promise before they hang up. "When he wakes up. Or if anything changes. Or if anything _doesn't_. Keep me in the loop. Please?"

Vanya nods, splaying her fingers against the beige-painted cinder block wall as though she could reach through and touch Allison. "I will."

* * *

The MRI doesn't show anything out of the ordinary.

This is a huge relief. Ben had braced himself to hear about lesions or mysterious bright spots or whatever the hell words doctors use to describe scans of damaged brains. But when the doctor comes into the private room that Klaus was allotted after Vanya filled out a form with Allison's credit card information, she tells them: "Everything looks fine. There's nothing that would seem to explain the seizures, or his continued unconsciousness. We'll run some more tests in the morning, but for now we'll just give him basic support and wait to see if he wakes up on his own."

"You don't have to stay," Diego tells Vanya after the doctor leaves. "I mean, it doesn't take _both_ of us to watch over him. You could go home, get some proper rest, come back in the morning."

But Vanya shakes her head. "I'm staying."

There are two chairs in the room—low, deep armchairs with blue vinyl cushions. They don't look comfortable for spending the night in, but at least they're a step up from the stackable plastic kind, or the floor. Diego sits in one, alert and leaning forward. Vanya tucks herself into the other; it's wide enough, and she's small enough, that she can curl up in it.

Ben sits on the bed next to Klaus, of course.

Vanya and Diego chat quietly for a while, and eventually Vanya seems to fall asleep. An hour or two later, so does Diego—still sitting up, with his chin drooped down towards his chest.

So then Ben is the only one left awake, watching over his three unconscious siblings. Hating the helpless feeling of knowing there is _literally_ nothing he can do.

* * *

At 3:41 in the morning by the clock on the wall, Dave appears.

He's sitting at the foot of the hospital bed, watching Klaus. His arms are hugged around his bent knees. His eyes are bloodshot and puffy.

Ben says, "Dave!" but there's no response.

Ben infers: Ben can see Dave, but Dave can't see Ben.

Anyway, the fact that Ben can see Dave means that Klaus must be waking up, so Ben is extremely happy to see him.

"Klaus?" Ben says, softly. He tries tapping Klaus's shoulder, but he's not solid for the moment. "Klaus?"

Klaus murmurs something indistinct.

Dave comes instantly to attention. And a moment later, his face is restored to its usual state—all signs that he's been crying are gone, vanished as abruptly and thoroughly as the mud and blood he'd been covered with when they first met him. He looks calm and alert.

Well, that's interesting. It's never occurred to Ben that a ghost could change their face as easily as their clothes.

"Hey, Klaus, are you awake?" Dave asks.

Klaus groans, and slits his eyes open. He looks at Dave, and then at Ben. Then he lifts his right hand, and looks at the IV stuck in the back of it, and the plastic hospital bracelet. "Uh oh," he says.

Dave shifts his legs, and leans forward a little. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Yeah." Klaus gives Ben a quick glare, and then starts peeling the tape away from the IV attachment.

"Klaus, what are you doing? Stop that," Ben says.

Klaus rolls his eyes at Ben, makes a jerky nod towards the corner of the room behind Ben, and gently tugs the IV line out of his hand.

Ben looks over his shoulder.

There are ghosts, of course.

"Klaus, you wanna maybe wake up Diego and Vanya?" Dave asks. "Is Ben here, by the way?"

"He is, but we don't need him," Klaus says to Dave in an undertone. He's already smacked the tape back on over the oozing wound in his hand. "Let's blow this popsicle stand." He looks under the thin hospital blanket, gives a little sigh, and then starts fumbling around down there. Removing the catheter, presumably.

"Klaus, _wake up_ Diego and Vanya," Ben says. "And let Dave see me."

"Uh uh, Benny-boy. You had your chance. I'm going with Dave now."

"My chance to _what_?" Ben asks, simultaneous with Dave's cautious, "Going where?"

"To see J-Dot," Klaus says.

Chilling Ben to the ghostly bone.

Dave looks blank. "Who's that?"

"Friend of mine," Klaus says.

"A guy he buys heroin from," Ben bites out. But Dave can't hear him. As Klaus knows very well.

"Help me up?" Klaus requests, holding out his arms to Dave.

Dave looks a little concerned, but not nearly as concerned as he should be. He gets off the bed himself, and then gives Klaus a hand.

Klaus goes pale when he stands up, and his knees buckle. Ben briefly entertains a hope that Klaus will flat-out collapse, and then _surely_ Diego or Vanya will wake up, or maybe it will occur to Dave that respecting Klaus's choices is _not_ the right move when Klaus's choices are _stupid_ as _fuck_ ... but no, Dave steadies Klaus, and Klaus sucks in a breath and gathers himself up.

Ben feels such a bitter sense of deja vu. How many times has he helplessly tried to talk Klaus off this path of self-destruction? Fuck, he thought they were _done_ with all this. Having Diego and Vanya and Dave around was supposed to _fix_ things. "Klaus, you can barely walk, it's the middle of the night, it's _December_ , you're wearing nothing but a hospital gown—"

"Oh, good point," Klaus says, in a tone that doesn't reassure Ben at all. Klaus looks around the room, and lights on the IV pole. "This'll help." He grabs the pole and keeps scanning the room. Diego's jacket is hanging on a hook on the back of the door. "Yoink." ( _Klaus_ 's jacket is balled up under Vanya's head, serving as a pillow.)

Pushing the IV pole and shrugging into Diego's jacket, Klaus shuffles out of the room—wincing away from the cluster of ghosts over in the corner.

The corridor is empty of people but crowded with ghosts. Most of them are sickly-looking but without obvious injuries. Some are pacing the hall, others are simply standing in one place looking miserable and lost.

Klaus starts down the hall, carefully picking his way around the ghosts.

He doesn't even necessarily know that they're ghosts. Or at least—he must guess that some of them are, but he doesn't know that they _all_ are. A lot of them look like they could plausibly be patients out for a midnight stroll, just like him.

Dave walks through a couple without even blinking, which startles Ben until he remembers that if Dave can't see _him_ , he probably can't see any of the other ghosts either.

The ghosts, meanwhile, are starting to react to Klaus.

A middle-aged man with loose, gray-tinged skin looks up with surprise when Klaus moves aside to avoid bumping into him. "Huh?" the man says. "Hey! You can _see_ me?"

"Yeah, don't get so excited about it, I'm on my way out," Klaus murmurs through gritted teeth, and jerks the IV pole onward. Then he nearly walks into a bent-over ancient-looking woman. He stops short with a bit-off " _shit_ ," and _she_ regards him with surprise too.

Over the next twenty feet, Klaus accumulates a pack of seven or eight very interested ghosts.

His eyes are starting to show a lot of white.

" _Ben_ ," he says. "Are _any_ of the people in this hallway alive?"

"In what universe do you think I'm going to _help_ you sneak out of the hospital to get high?"

But meanwhile, Klaus has just showed his hand.

Every ghost in the corridor—every one in earshot, at least—starts heading for Klaus.

"Call the nurse," one of them demands, getting up in Klaus's face. "I'm having a heart attack!"

"Have you seen my daughter?" another one wails.

"It huuuuuuurrrrtssss..." moans a third, reaching plaintively for Klaus.

Klaus backs up until he hits a wall, and stares wildly at the ghosts. "Dave? Help?" he squeaks.

"There are a lot of ghosts?" Dave asks. "You haven't done the thing that lets me see them. I'll help if I can, but I'm not sure what I can do."

Frankly, for once Ben's hoping that Dave _won't_ manage to calm down Klaus's ghost-fears. If a living human comes upon Klaus and finds him freaking out, maybe he'll end up back in his room.

Meanwhile, Klaus twitches his arm away from a ghost's grasping hand and presses himself harder against the wall. "Help me think!" he begs Dave. "How do I deal with this?!"

"Ah, maybe try not seeing them?" Dave suggests. "Do the holding-your-breath thing and shut your power down?"

"Yes, yes!" Klaus bares his teeth in frantic grin. His eyes are welling up with tears. "Let's try that!" He flinches away from two more yelling, flailing ghosts, squeezes his eyes shut and hunches his shoulders—and then opens his eyes and straightens up, looking around the suddenly ghost-empty hallway with an expression of amazement. "It fucking _worked_!" he breathes.

"Klaus, can you still see _me_?" Ben asks, but Klaus doesn't react.

Oh, great. "Thanks a lot, Dave," Ben mutters.

Of _all_ the times for Klaus to get a better handle on his powers...

Ben grinds his teeth, and glares at his brother.

Klaus, meanwhile, eases gingerly away from the wall and, pushing the IV pole, heads straight down the corridor towards the elevators.

* * *

The hospital isn't really set up to prevent people from leaving, but there is a night-shift security guard at the reception desk by the front door. Ben entertains a moment of hope when he looks up at Klaus's approach.

But Klaus raises two fingers to his lightly-grinning lips and makes the going-for-a-smoke sign, and the guard barely shrugs an acknowledgment before turning his attention back to his paperback book. He doesn't seem to have noticed that Klaus is barefoot.

The hospital is downtown, letting out on a busy four-lane street. Even at nearly four in the morning, there's a steady buzz of traffic. It's drizzling rain. The blue Christmas lights on the skeletal trees lining the hospital's driveway have fuzzy halos around them, and the headlights and taillights of the traffic smear the asphalt with glistening white and red reflections.

Klaus remembers to wait for the walk light, and then stumbles on across the street.

It's eight blocks to the alley where J-Dot plies his trade. Klaus gets some odd looks on the way there—barefoot and bare-legged, a hospital gown poking out from under Diego's battered leather coat, pushing an IV pole, of _course_ he does—but nobody feels moved to interfere with him.

Ben tries to guess what kind of a state Klaus is in. What's on his mind, besides the obvious.

Klaus's grip on the IV pole is white-knuckled. He doesn't bounce as he walks, he just trudges along. Is he in pain from the seizure? Is holding back his power causing him discomfort?

Does Ben even care?

_Fuck_ Klaus. He doesn't have to do this, and he's doing it anyway. He's actually succeeded in making the ghosts go away without using drugs, and he's _still_ making a beeline to the nearest dealer.

Ben seriously considers turning around and going back to the hospital and just hanging out with Diego and Vanya, his nice _non_ -self-destructing siblings. As long as Klaus is blocking out his own ghost-sight, Ben's presence here is 100% pointless anyway.

... Okay, actually he doesn't consider that for a moment. There's no way he's letting Klaus out of his sight. But he angrily tells himself that he _should_.

J-Dot is tucked into a boarded-up doorway in his favorite alley, slightly out of the rain.

Klaus gives him a big grin. "My man! Am I glad to see you!"

J-Dot sniffs, and gives Klaus a suspicious look. "What's with the hospital chic? You _in_ rehab right now?"

"No, no, that was all a big misunderstanding," Klaus says. " _Any_ way, I was wondering what delights you might be doling out tonight."

"How much you got?" J-Dot asks.

Klaus rattles the IV pole. "Fresh from the hospital! Not a scratch on it! Gotta be worth at least one baggie of the good stuff."

J-Dot gives him a dumbfounded look. "Do I look like a fucking pawn shop? Come back with cash, shithead."

Klaus deflates and turns away. "Fucking hell, this is going to be a longer night than I planned on," he murmurs. He pushes the IV pole into a stand of garbage bins and winces at the resulting clatter. Then he hunches his shoulders and tucks his hands into Diego's jacket's pockets.

And stops abruptly, _grinning_.

He pulls Diego's wallet out of the left-hand pocket. Rifles through it, pulls out several bills.

Ben moans.

Klaus skips back to J-Dot—and, oh, _there's_ his usual energy—and waves the bills in his face. "Hook me up!" he demands, like an overstimulated child in a candy shop.

Looking bemused, J-Dot pockets the money and produces a tiny plastic baggie with three white pills in it.

Klaus pinches the bag between his fingers and frowns at it. "Uhhh, I was hoping for something a little stronger than oxy ... I've been having a _really_ bad day, so..."

J-Dot snorts. "That's fentanyl, not fucking oxycontin. One pill is an expert-level dose. Do not _not_ take two at once. Word on the street is, your fucking psycho brother beat up Eddie last month. I don't want him on my ass if you OD."

Klaus's eyebrows go up, and he looks at the little baggie with more respect. And maybe a bit of wariness, though that might just be Ben projecting his hopes onto the scene.

Well, what Ben _really_ hopes is that Klaus will return the pills and ask for his money back on the basis that fentanyl is a bridge too far. Klaus spent four days in a coma nine months ago after taking it accidentally. Klaus personally knows _three people_ who have died from it.

But what actually happens is that Klaus gives the baggie a soft, doe-eyed smile, tucks it into his pocket, kisses J-Dot, and exits the alley.


	28. Chapter 28

Klaus sits perched atop a pile of wooden pallets, staring at three pills in a little plastic baggie.

He's in another alley, just a block away from where he bought the pills. It's a little after four in the morning. His hair is a wild mess of wet curls in the December drizzle. His soggy hospital gown is rucked up around his knees, and his bare feet are tucked under him.

He's been sitting there, staring at the pills, for at least a solid minute.

Ben, sitting invisibly next to him on the topmost pallet, is starting to experience some faint stirrings of hope. The fact that Klaus hasn't taken a pill yet means, clearly, that he has qualms.

He might decide not to take it.

Well, that still doesn't seem likely, given Klaus's entire life up to this point. But. There Klaus is, the unopened baggie still resting on the palm of his hand, nestled in the middle of the word 'goodbye'.

And then all of a sudden Klaus clenches his fist around the baggie, clutches at his throat with his other hand, and wheezes like he's just been kicked in the solar plexus.

Ben watches in confusion and alarm while Klaus hunches over, sucking in panicky, belabored breaths.

Klaus didn't already _take_ a pill, did he? He couldn't have, not without Ben seeing. And this looks like an allergic reaction maybe, but not an overdose.

And then Dave appears next to Klaus, hands hovering on either side of him like he wants to hold him. "Klaus?! What's _happening_?"

Klaus waves his hands at Dave as though to reassure him, and his wheezing gets a little less intense. A few breaths later he sits up, coughs a couple of times, and shakes his head. "OoooKAY," he says. "That shutting-down-my-power thing works until it doesn't. Hi guys. You seriously both followed me the whole way here?"

Ben indulges himself in knocking his forehead against his own tucked-up knees. "Oh my _God_ , Klaus."

Dave looks around curiously. "Ben's here?"

"Oh, right." Klaus makes a twirly flourish in the air with his free hand, and Dave blinks and looks straight at Ben.

"Hi," Dave says. Not exactly warmly.

Ben takes stock for a moment. No other ghosts have appeared besides Dave. So it looks like Klaus managed to lose his pack from the hospital somewhere along the way. That's good, probably.

Klaus has opened up his left hand again, and is looking at the baggie. "So, um, anyway," he says.

And Ben remembers to be scared.

He catches Dave's eye, but he can't read _anything_ in Dave's expression. Dave seems preternaturally calm an awful lot of the time, and right now he might as well be carved from wood.

Ben remembers in the hospital when Klaus first regained consciousness—Dave's red-rimmed eyes, his devastated expression, and the way he'd changed his face as soon as he thought that anybody might see him. So his calm demeanor right now is definitely an act.

So is Ben's, for that matter. His first, most natural impulse is to yell at Klaus. To tell him that he's being an idiot and that he should stop. But that's never worked before, and honestly Ben mostly just does it to satisfy his own feelings.

Right now? Right now Klaus is on a serious edge, and Ben doesn't want him to fall down on the wrong side.

Three pills in that bag. If Klaus takes one, all the gains he's made in the past month are wiped out.

If he takes all three, he might actually die. And Ben's never really worried about Klaus deliberately overdosing before, but he doesn't know _what_ 's been going through Klaus's head since Allison's phone call.

The rain is pooling in the palm of Klaus's hand, beading up on the baggie.

Slowly, slowly, Ben reaches for the bag.

And his hand whiffs through Klaus's like smoke.

Klaus smiles faintly, and shakes his head. "No, Benny. I need to think about this."

"Okay," Ben says, and settles back, hands on his knees. "We could go somewhere warmer, though." Ben can't feel the temperature, but Klaus has been shivering since about thirty seconds after he left the hospital, so Ben assumes it's down close to freezing. "Back to Diego and Vanya, maybe?"

Klaus snorts. "Nice try, Benny. Diego would straight-up stab me to make me drop the pills, you know he would."

Plausible, Ben has to admit. "Please don't take it," he tries, quietly. "Everything's been going so well."

Klaus meets that with a hollow laugh. "No it hasn't."

"I know it was upsetting to hear that Dad wanted to see you, but—"

" _Fuck_ Ben," Klaus cuts him off, "don't start. One time, _one time_ , I actually _ask_ you to protect me, and you can't wait to rip yourself away from me."

"Uh," Ben needs to point out, "you didn't _ask_ me for anything."

"Okay, not with words, but I think I was being _super_ clear! _Vanya_ got it!"

Which makes Ben feel a little guilty, but also pissed off because Klaus is trying to pass off his communication difficulties as Ben's fault. "Okay, _how_ many times did I beg you to let me out so we could talk? You could've _told_ me what you needed."

Klaus scoffs. "Sure, and then everybody would've been all 'oh, Klaus, you need to face your problems and handle your own life' and 'it's not _healthy_ to get Ben to possess you all the time'."

"So you decided to _hold me prisoner_. _That_ was your solution?" Ben knows he's supposed to be supportive here, but he's starting to get annoyed.

And that earns him a raspberry noise. "Oh come on, Ben. 'Prisoner'? You had _way_ more freedom than I would've had. Diego wasn't _babysitting_ you!"

"You know what I mean!" Ben retorts. "You _trapped_ me inside your body!"

Klaus winces; that blow struck. But he lashes back: "Okay, I thought you _liked_ possessing me actually but never mind, sorry to have forced you to endure my queer, fucked-up body for four whole days!"

"God Klaus, that's _not_ what I meant!"

"Uh, guys?" Dave interjects. "Could we just maybe back up a little?"

Klaus is shaking really hard, and Ben is breathing angrily through his teeth. But they both stop yelling.

"Klaus," Dave says, and his tone suggests that _he_ thinks he's in the middle of a calm, reasonable conversation, "why did you buy the drugs?"

"Because they'll make all my problems go away. Duh."

"Klaus," Ben says, trying very hard to sound as calm and reasonable as Dave does, "ninety percent of your problems are _because_ of the drugs."

Klaus rolls his eyes at Ben. "Says you. We have very different opinions about what my problems are."

Ben starts counting off on his fingers. "Being homeless, being hungry, getting hurt, getting sick..."

"Okay, but none of that matters when I'm high."

Ben wants to yell at Klaus _so badly_. But he takes a breath, and in a nice level voice reminds Klaus: "The highs don't last. And every time you come down, everything gets a little bit worse."

Klaus is silent for a moment, staring down at the baggie. He closes and opens the fingers of his left hand. And then he says, "Dad won't want to see me if I'm back on the drugs."

There's suddenly a ringing in Ben's ears. Which is _purely_ psychological, clearly, since ghosts don't have blood pressure. "Dad doesn't get to see you," he says, forcing _all_ of his conviction into the words so that by speaking them he can _make_ them true, and make Klaus believe in them. "Not ever."

Klaus's mouth twitches in a one-sided grimace. He keeps staring at the pills.

"Klaus," Dave says, "if I promise not to do anything to interfere with your choices, will you give me the power to touch you?"

Klaus hesitates, but then gives a little nod.

Dave wraps an arm around Klaus's shoulders.

"It's only been a month," Klaus says. "And I'm already so tired of being sober all the fucking time. Wanting to crawl out of my skin. Nothing between me and the fucking screaming."

Ben swallows. "Klaus, can I hug you too? I won't ... I won't try to take the drugs away from you. I promise."

Klaus doesn't make any outward sign, but Ben feels the subtle change in his own substance. He tucks his arm around Klaus's waist. He can feel the cold, waterlogged texture of Diego's coat, and he can feel Klaus shivering.

"I think I can probably keep seeing you," Klaus says, looking to his left, at Dave. "When I'm high, I mean. I did it for Ben for all those years, apparently. It's just a matter of wanting it enough."

"Do you think that you do?" Dave asks, in such a neutral tone that Ben's _sure_ it's an act. "Want it enough?"

Klaus shrugs. "Dunno. I mean, I _like_ you. You're hot, and you're sweet, and for some weird reason you like _me_ , which is hard to understand but it's nice. I haven't got wander-the-world-for-fifty-years-waiting-to-see-you-again energy for you, though. Sorry."

"It's okay," Dave says. "It was different the first time, when we were _both_ getting to know each other. Now I'm coming in with all this history, and you don't know me—it's not the same kind of connection."

Ben wonders how Dave can say things like that and sound so calm. He wonders if Dave's face is fake _right now_.

"You liked me when I was high, right?" Klaus says. He's still talking to Dave, but he's looking down at the baggie again.

Okay, _now_ , with Klaus looking away from him, Dave's expression gets sadder. And he catches Ben's eye, and flinches and looks away quickly. When he speaks, he's as calm as ever. "Yeah," he says. "I liked you _all_ the time, Klaus."

"Ben doesn't like me doing drugs," Klaus says. "He nags me about it _constantly_."

_Because I love you,_ Ben doesn't say. If he says it, Klaus will want to deflect it. And there are the pills, still, in the palm of his hand.

"Klaus ... I like _you_ , including when you're high," Dave says. "That doesn't mean I like you doing drugs."

"But I was, though, right?" Klaus says. Focus not wavering from the baggie. "The whole time we were together."

Dave shifts a little, and when Ben looks over at him, he sees that Dave has just changed outfits—he's wearing green camo fatigues, like when they first met him. They're clean, though; no mud, no blood, no bullet-hole. "We were in a war," Dave says. "Death was everywhere. Any day you woke up might be your last. You could catch a sniper bullet, mortar round, land mine—no way to know, no way to see it coming. Your addictions seemed like a pretty minor problem, compared to all that."

"Yay, perspective," Klaus murmurs faintly, staring at the pills. "Funny how nobody saw it like that when I was a teenager, though. Considering, you know. How most of what you just said about the war also applied to our family life."

"In a way, maybe we did," Ben says. "In a normal family, I think maybe somebody would've tried to get you help. Instead of ignoring you and occasionally yelling at you."

Klaus grimaces. "Fuck off, Ben, I don't need 'help'. _How_ many fucking times have I blown off rehab?" He works the baggie around in his hand, so he's pinching it between thumb and forefinger. He squints at it.

"Klaus, I am so sorry that your life sucks so much," Ben tries, a little desperately. "But please don't give up. Haven't the past three weeks been ... well ... _better_ than most of the past nine years?"

Klaus rubs the baggie, catching his thumbnail on the edge of one of the pills. "In some ways, yes," he admits.

"We aren't going to let Dad come anywhere _near_ you," Ben promises again, because he hasn't forgotten what triggered this whole crisis. "I mean, I know I'm technically useless. But Diego's like a pitbull, and you realize Vanya can knock down forests without even trying, right? They'll keep you safe, if you'll let them."

Klaus puffs out a little laugh, and at the end of it a tiny, _tiny_ smile lingers on his lips, and hope flares in Ben's chest. "Yeah," Klaus says. "You have a point. They're pretty great, aren't they? It'd be nice if I got to keep living with them."

Yes. _Yes_.

But then Klaus closes his eyes and shudders. "But, the screaming, though. That's the thing."

"I can't fix that," Dave says. "But I know I can distract you from it for, say, forty-five minutes. Any time you can get us a room to ourselves."

This time Klaus lets out a _real_ bark of laughter. "Forty-five minutes? You're pretty modest there, Davey-poo."

"Hey, the stamina thing's all on you," Dave says mildly. "Ghosts don't _get_ tired. You should keep working out."

Klaus laughs again, and maybe it sounds a little bit like the edge of weeping, but Ben can see Klaus's shoulders relaxing. Ben feels Klaus pulling away from him, but that's just because Klaus is leaning his head into the crook of Dave's neck.

Ben starts to hope that maybe this is going to turn out okay.

And then there's a shout from the mouth of the alley. "Diego! He's in here!" It's Vanya's voice. "Ben and Dave are with him!" There's the sound of running feet, and Vanya's diminutive form and pale face.

Klaus looks up in confusion. " _Vanya_?"

She's panting hard. "Oh my God, Klaus, we were so worried! What are you doing out here?"

"Oh, you know. Existential searching."

More running feet, and Diego careens into the alley. "Klaus, you _asshole_! Jesus _fuck_! _Why_ did you run off?"

Klaus tenses, and draws himself a little further away from Diego. The stack of pallets puts the level of his head a little above Diego's (and a foot above Vanya's). "This is my natural habitat," he says. "I don't know why you'd find it surprising that I'd end up here."

"Klaus, please, tell Diego and Vanya what's been happening," Ben says.

"Can you give one of them the pills?" Dave asks, and his voice is _so_ neutral and casual.

But the pills have disappeared into Klaus's closed left hand.

"Gimme my coat, by the way," Diego says, holding out Klaus's. "I'm fucking freezing."

Klaus shrugs and complies. "You'd look good in pink, though," he says, handing over Diego's wet leather jacket.

"I _tried_ wearing yours," Diego says. "Too fucking skinny in the shoulders." As soon as he's got his own coat on, his hand goes to the pocket. He pulls out his wallet, looks inside, and gives a tight frown.

"Klaus, we need to get you back to the hospital," Vanya says, meanwhile. "Did you walk all the way out here _barefoot_?"

"Hey actually, why was I _in_ the hospital?" Klaus asks, tugging his own coat tight around himself. "I feel fine."

"I bet you do," Diego mutters, tucking his wallet back into his pocket. He says it softly enough, Ben thinks Klaus and Vanya might not have registered it.

"You had a really long seizure and you passed out, and then you didn't wake up," Vanya says. "After a couple of hours we started to get pretty worried."

"Oh, okay," Klaus says. "I guess that makes sense. I think it's cumulative."

Vanya tilts her head up to look more directly at Klaus, frowning. "What is?"

"Fighting with Ben inside my body. We were going at it for four days. I think it's like ... a static charge, or something. And then when he leaves it's like touching the doorknob."

"I'm really sorry about that," Ben says. "For the twenty-five percent that was my fault, anyway."

Klaus frowns at Ben. "Twenty-five?"

"Yeah well, if you'd let me go three days ago, it wouldn't have hurt so much."

Klaus shows Ben his middle finger.

Diego snorts. "I'm guessing that's where Ben is," he says, nodding to the correct side of Klaus.

"He and Dave were both glowing blue when I passed by the alley," Vanya says. "I might not have seen Klaus in the dark otherwise."

"I don't want to go back to the hospital," Klaus says. "Can we go home?"

"Yeah," Diego says. He sounds tired.

Vanya frowns at Diego. "What? What about the neurologist he was supposed to see in the morning?"

"No point," Diego says. "Not like they're going to figure out what's wrong with him. Not like we don't already know. Anyway, the doctor said his MRI was fine."

Klaus swings his legs over the edge of the stack of pallets. "Home again, home again, jiggedy-jig."

"Wait, Klaus." Vanya puts a hand on his knee and stops him from slipping down off the pallets. "Is that blood?"

"What? No. Nothing hurts," Klaus says.

" _That's_ not surprising," Diego says, crossing his arms and glaring.

"Diego thinks you're high," Ben mentions, in case Klaus hasn't figured it out yet. "Because of the missing money. You should tell him that you aren't."

Klaus just laughs. "Of _course_ he'd assume I'm high." And fails to deny it.

Vanya's still checking Klaus's feet. "You have a few cuts," she says. "I think you do need to go back to the hospital. For a tetanus shot."

"I'm _not_ going back there," Klaus says. "Not before those ghosts have time to forget about me."

"Actually you don't need a tetanus shot," Ben tells him. "You had one less than two years ago."

"What?" Klaus squints at Ben. "I don't remember that."

Ben sighs. "Of course you don't. But it happened. Tell Vanya she doesn't have to worry."

"Ben says that my shots are up to date," Klaus reports. "So just ... put me in my crate and take me home."

Diego frowns. "He shouldn't be walking around like that. If I go get the car, do you think you can handle him, Van?"

Vanya looks a bit uncertain. "What do you mean, 'handle him'?"

"Don't let him _leave_."

"She can, don't worry!" Klaus tells him cheerfully. "If I try to make like a tree, she'll just treat me like a tree! Get it? 'Make like a tree, and leave?' But Vanya knocks down trees! Do you get it?"

"I get it, buddy," Diego says, giving Klaus's cheek a quick, proprietary pat. "Seriously, though, stay put." And he leaves the alley, jogging.

"Klaus, are you sounding high on _purpose_?" Ben asks him.

"Sure, maybe," Klaus says. "It's what they expect."

* * *

Vanya passes the time in the alley by updating Klaus on what happened while he was unconscious: more details about the MRI, and also letting him know that Allison was footing the bill.

"That's really nice of her," Klaus says. "She paid for me to do rehab a few times, you know."

Vanya nods. "I was wondering about that. Why you did it. Were you hoping to stop using?"

Klaus makes a scornful 'pshaw' noise. "Never," he says. "It was just a warm place to sleep."

"Was that something you needed? Often?"

Ben's a little surprised at the question—but then, when he thinks back, he realizes that Klaus hasn't talked much about his post-Academy life with Vanya. Ben's told her a few things, and so has Diego, but she still probably doesn't have a very detailed picture.

"I mean, usually I could find somebody to go home with," Klaus says. "And I don't mind sleeping outside in the summer, on the off nights. The winter's kind of rough, though."

"Why didn't you ask Allison for rent money?" Vanya asks.

Klaus snorts. "Are you kidding? If she sent me any money, I would've spent it on drugs. Which she knew perfectly well. At least with the rehab, she could tell herself she wasn't enabling me."

Vanya frowns, and doesn't ask any follow-up questions.

* * *

When Diego comes back, he offers Klaus a piggy-back ride to the car. Klaus laughs softly, and clings to Diego's shoulders, his knees tucked through Diego's elbows and his bony bare feet dangling in the air. "Giddy-up," he murmurs a little deliriously. Diego rolls his eyes and trudges heavily the half block to the car.

"Klaus," he says quietly, while he's carrying him, "I want you to know, we're not giving up on you just because you fucked up. We'll go back to the apartment, and you can sleep it off, and ... and you'll just start again, okay? The number of days doesn't matter. You can come back from this."

"Aaaagh," Klaus groans. "Shut up, Diego."

" _Tell_ him you're not high," Ben insists.

"Like he'd even believe me."

"He probably would, if you show him the pills you didn't take."

"Nice try, Ben," Klaus scoffs.

"What's Ben saying?" Diego asks.

Klaus makes a vague noise. "Tell you later," he says, and lets his head sink down to rest on Diego's shoulder.

* * *

Back at the apartment, Diego piggy-back carries Klaus all the way into the bathroom, and then cleans and bandages the cuts on his feet. Vanya brings in a dry change of clothes for him. And then, since Klaus hasn't stopped shivering yet, they get him to lie in Vanya's bed and they both get under the covers with him.

"Klaus..." Diego says, "it's going to be okay."

"Sure, whatever," Klaus says. He rolls away from Diego and curls up, pressing his face into Vanya's shoulder.

Vanya looks briefly perturbed. But then she shifts so that she can wrap her other arm around Klaus. "Okay," she says. "You should try to rest."

* * *

All three living siblings have settled into the slow, even breathing of sleep by the time Dave (who's sitting in the chair that Vanya keeps next to her dresser) says "Can we talk?"

Ben's sitting cross-legged at the foot of the bed, watching Klaus. "Yeah. I think we should. We need to figure out how to get those drugs away from him." Ben's not sure _exactly_ what happened to the baggie, but he thinks it probably made its way into the pocket of Klaus's coat. "If you can distract him for a minute in the morning while he's letting me type, I can tell Diego and Vanya what's going on."

Dave looks pained. "Um. Ben. I know you love Klaus and you're only trying to protect him. And I know he's your brother, and _I'm_ just some guy who showed up out of nowhere a month ago with a weird story about time travel. But ... I really don't like how often you and Diego try to help Klaus by taking away his choices."

Ben stares at him. "But his choices are _stupid_ ," he says, which is a massive and ridiculous understatement, but Ben is totally blindsided by Dave's resistance to Ben's clearly necessary and 100% correct plan to _get the drugs the fuck away from Klaus as soon as possible_.

"Sometimes, yeah," Dave concedes. "But they're _his_."

"Congratulations, you sound like a very good boyfriend," Ben says. "But Klaus is an addict. He's not _making_ free choices. The drugs fuck with his brain. _They_ don't let him choose. If you'd seen some of the things he's done over the years to get drugs, you'd understand that."

"He's sober right now," Dave points out. "And he _did_ choose not to take the pills, in the alley."

" _For now_ ," Ben retorts. "But he didn't give them to Diego or Vanya when you asked him to, did he?"

Dave shrugs. "He has to find his own way to that point."

"Okay, maybe, _maybe_ , if it was just oxy or MDMA or benzos or whatever," Ben says—not that he'd be okay with Klaus taking _anything_ right now, but he thinks his rhetorical point is stronger if he phrases it this way—"but do you know what fentanyl is?"

Dave admits his ignorance with a little shake of his head.

"It's a synthetic opioid. It's _fifty times_ stronger than heroin." When Klaus goes to rehab, Ben reads the pamphlets. "Maybe those pills he bought were stolen from a hospital, or maybe they were made in an illegal lab. If it was the latter, then the dosage might not be properly controlled. It's theoretically possible that _one_ pill could kill him."

Dave finally looks worried, which was Ben's intention. "Does Klaus know this?"

" _Yes_! That's why he never takes it. Except one time he did, accidentally—it was cut in with some heroin—and he nearly died. Like, _really_ nearly died. He flatlined in the ambulance."

"That was ... the four days in a coma?" Dave asks. "You brought it up before. You said you could still read, in the hospital, so when he took Vanya's pills and you _couldn't_ read, that's how you knew that Vanya's drugs were blocking his powers on a whole other level."

"Yeah, that's the time." Ben swallows down the memory of his own fear, and hugs himself.

"Okay. So what I'm hearing from you is: even though Klaus has been living with a really severe drug addiction since he was a teenager, he decided that this particular drug was too dangerous and he consistently chose not to take it. What makes you think that we can't trust him to keep making that choice today?"

"The fact that the pills are still in the _house_ ," Ben grits out. "The fact that he _chose_ to buy them and he _chose_ to keep them."

"Klaus makes bad choices," Dave says, eyeing Ben warily, "because he doesn't have access to _good_ ones. He started using drugs because he didn't know of any other way to block out the ghosts. But did you notice what he managed tonight? He blocked us all out for nearly twenty minutes."

Ben winces reflexively at being lumped in with other ghosts like that. But Dave's not wrong. " _While_ he was walking barefoot over broken glass to get to a dealer," Ben points out, because he's also not wrong. "Okay, yes, he's made _huge_ progress in dealing with ghosts in general. But that's just made it more obvious how the ghosts aren't his only problem. And I think that's freaking him out, actually."

"Are you talking about the eyes-closed ghosts?" Dave asks. "I'm a little unclear about what the deal is with them, actually. Is it another facet of his power?"

Ben shakes his head. "No. Or—only indirectly. He has PTSD from Dad locking him in the mausoleum. Actually, probably not _just_ from that—I guess there were a lot of scary ghosts hanging around the mansion when we were kids, and he didn't start drinking to block them out until we were thirteen." And the expression on Dave's face makes Ben reflect back on what he's just said and realize how _extremely_ fucked up their childhoods were. "Anyway, that's where the nightmares come from, mostly. And the way he'll panic if he's in the dark or his eyes are covered. But even when he's not dropping into a full-on flashback, I think the ghosts are kind of ... buzzing around the back of his head. Most of the time." He looks at Dave. "He never told you any of this?"

"I knew he saw ghosts, and that he had nightmares—and not just at night. And that there was some bad shit with his father." Dave shrugs. "He didn't offer details, and I didn't feel like I needed any. I mean, isn't all that _enough_? Anyway, he hated talking about it." He frowns. "Actually, I'm not so sure _we_ should be talking about it behind his back like this."

" _We_ have to, because _he_ won't," Ben says. "And now he's got drugs in the house. And if we don't get rid of them before the next time he's overwhelmed by a flashback, he'll probably take them."

"Okay, I agree, he needs to get rid of the pills," Dave says. "So we're going to talk to him about it tomorrow. We're not going to _trick_ him."

It's a noble sentiment in theory, but tricking him will probably work and talking to him might not, and Ben _needs_ Klaus to be safe. And honestly Ben's getting a little tired of having to defend his brother-protection methods to this holier-than-thou _ghost_. "That's a little hypocritical of you, though, isn't it?" he mentions, ever so mildly. "I mean, does he know that your _face_ is fake?"

Dave blinks in confusion, and touches his own nose and cheeks as though verifying their positions. "This is my face," he says.

"I saw you in the hospital," Ben says. "When Klaus first woke up. Before he made any noise."

Dave still looks confused. "So?"

"So you were _wrecked_. And then Klaus started to stir, and you," Ben waves a hand in front of his own face, "fixed it."

"Oh." Dave sits back in his chair, looking mildly perturbed. "I didn't ... _exactly_ ... know I was doing that. It's like with the clothes. I didn't mean to flash into my army uniform earlier. I don't think my control is quite as good as yours."

Ben's not letting him get away with that. "I think your control is amazing. No matter what's happening with Klaus, you're always so calm. I wondered how you did it, but now I've seen you _literally_ change your face just by deciding to."

Dave narrows his eyes. "Isn't that how _everybody_ changes their face?"

"Not like _that_."

"Okay ... yes." Dave scrapes his hand across his cheek, wearily. "I hid the fact that I'd been crying when Klaus woke up. It's sort of none of your business, by the way."

"It _is_ my business if you're lying to my brother."

"Making an effort to stay calm isn't _lying_."

"It is if you're good enough at it."

Instead of denying it again, Dave covers his face with his hands and lets out a long, soft moan.

Ben's not sure where this is going now, so he waits, shifting his legs under himself to get more comfortable. His siblings are still sleeping quietly; Ben and Dave haven't exactly been remembering to keep their voices down, but they don't seem to have disturbed Klaus, who's still cuddled into Vanya's side. Seeing him safely tucked between Diego and Vanya is soothing, but Ben hasn't forgotten the stakes of this argument he's having with Dave. Klaus's safety is an illusion as long as those pills are in the house.

"So, time travel," Dave says, lowering his hands.

"Uh huh?" That's not where Ben thought this was going.

"It sucks that our whole time together got erased. Or, never happens from his point of view. However you want to put it. But there's one upside, which is ... I kind of get a do-over. I don't have to make the same mistakes I did the first time."

"What mistakes?"

"Letting him see how scared I was."

Ben lifts an eyebrow, inviting Dave to continue.

"He got hurt," Dave says, and his eyes are distant. "It was just a couple of weeks after our first kiss. A month and a half after he appeared in my tent. There was an explosion. We had a half-second's warning—everybody else hit the dirt, but he didn't. He was just standing there, blinking."

"He was high?" Of course he was high.

Dave nods. "So anyway, it could have been worse. He took a chunk of shrapnel in his shoulder. He came out of it with a nasty scar, but he didn't, like, lose the arm or anything. But. It was pretty obvious _why_ he'd gotten hurt. And like I said, this was pretty early on for the two of us. I was already so fucking in love with him. But I didn't exactly know about the ghosts yet. And I hadn't figured out how severe his addiction was."

"He's pretty good at hiding it," Ben mentions. Which seemed like a weird thing to say, because everybody knew that Klaus was a junkie. But not many people figured out that he was literally _always_ high.

"Soooo, when he came back the next day with the stitches in his shoulder, I got him alone, and I kind of had a bit of a breakdown. About how much I loved him and how it had felt like dying, seeing him bleeding out on the ground. And how terrified I was that he'd get _killed_ the next time."

Ben winces.

"Yeah," Dave says. "So he broke up with me."

"Wait," Ben says. "You only dated for _two weeks_?"

"Well, that's not the end of the story," Dave says. "So he broke up with me, and he went into kind of a tailspin. And a week later, ah, when we—the rest of the squad—when we got back from lunch we found him passed out on his cot. We couldn't wake him up. It was, um. Yeah. An overdose. So. When he got back from medical three days later..." He trails off, gazing at Klaus.

"What happened?" Ben prompts. Not like the story up to this point is _shocking_. Except for how Klaus apparently overdosed due to complicated feelings about Dave. Honestly, that is a little surprising. Despite all of Klaus's damage, all of his overdoses in this timeline have been honest screw-ups—he never _meant_ to do it.

"I got him alone again, and I made a joke about it. And _he_ made a joke, and then we were okay again."

"As long as you pretended not to care too much." Well, that was kind of sad.

But Dave shakes his head. "No, that's not exactly it. He just ... needs to believe that I'm not going to be broken by him fucking up."

Okay, honestly, since Dave popped up out of nowhere, Ben's kind of been taking his help and his calm presence for granted. It hasn't occurred to Ben to wonder how all these events feel for _Dave_. "That's not fair," he says. "To you, I mean."

Dave shrugs. "So? Lots of things aren't fair. We have to play the hand we're dealt. I love Klaus, and this is something I can do for him."

"Repressing your emotions?"

"I was brought up in the 1950s," Dave reminds Ben with a wry smile. "Gotta be good for something." And then he adds, "I think I understood him better after the time I went home. After I died, I mean. I mentioned before that I stayed in Vietnam for a couple of years, right? When I made it back stateside, I decided I should go check up on my family—my parents, and my sister. I timed my arrival for Memorial Day, because I thought they'd be likely to be talking about me a bit, and I thought that would be nice." He shakes his head, frowning. "It wasn't. It was fucking unbearable. Their grief—I couldn't take it. I ran as fast as I could back to San Francisco. I never went back to Dallas."

Ben ... can't relate, actually. He watched his own siblings grieve for him in close quarters for months, and mostly what he remembers is feeling really annoyed with them all.

Maybe there's something wrong with him.

"Anyway, so after that I felt like I could understand better why Klaus couldn't handle me being sad and scared about _him_ ," Dave says. "So ... yeah. Please don't tell him."

"If I promise not to tell him you were crying in the hospital," Ben says, "will you help me get the drugs away from him?"

"What?!" Dave stares at him. "Are you seriously proposing to _blackmail_ me into helping you trick Klaus into giving up the pills?"

"Um, yes?" Ben hunches his shoulders. "It's for his own good."

Dave just _looks_ at him, for a good few seconds. And then he stands up. "I need some air," he says, and walks out through the closed bedroom door.


	29. Chapter 29

Ben doesn't get to try out any part of his plan the next morning, because Dave is AWOL and Klaus won't let him use the typewriter.

Even when _Vanya_ requests a typewriter conversation with Ben, Klaus refuses. "I have a headache," he says, and gives Vanya a feeble, wavering, apologetic smile.

Ben rolls his eyes in frustration.

Vanya accepts Klaus's excuse, even though it's obvious that she really wants to check in with Ben. And then she doesn't even call Klaus out for the inconsistency when he begs her for a guitar lesson.

So Ben sits in the armchair, glowering, while Vanya attempts to teach Klaus how to play "Wonderwall". Actually, the music lesson goes pretty well; by the time Diego gets back from his morning shift at the gym, Klaus can play parts of the song recognizably, and he and Vanya are smiling at each other a lot.

Watching the two of them getting along so well, Ben feels like he could almost let himself relax.

_Almost_. But the pills are still in the house, somewhere.

Vanya heads out, and Diego makes sandwiches. He _also_ asks to talk to Ben, and Klaus makes the same headache excuse, despite Ben's frustrated begging.

"Why don't you lie down for a while after lunch, then?" Diego suggests. "Last night was ... rough."

So Klaus ends up lying on the bedroom-couch pressing a cold pack to his forehead. Once Diego's left him alone (but with the door open), Klaus frowns at Ben and asks, " _Where_ did you say Dave went?"

"Out for a walk," Ben says, repeating what he'd told Klaus when he first woke up.

"Weird," Klaus says. "He's never been gone for this long before. I hope he didn't get into trouble. Do you think there's any way he could get into trouble?"

Ben hunches his shoulders. "We had a fight," he admits. "Kind of."

Klaus gives him a bewildered look. "Huh?"

"Ghosts are people too," Ben points out, a little defensively. "We can have arguments."

"Pshhyeah," Klaus snorts. " _You_ can be super catty. Hard to picture Dave rising to the bait, though. He's so chill."

"Maybe not as chill as you think," Ben suggests, but he stops short of following through and telling Klaus about Dave's confession.

"Aaaagh." Klaus squint-glares at Ben. "Did you fucking scare away my ghost boyfriend?"

"He'll be back," Ben predicts confidently. "He may _possibly_ be mad at me right now, but he still likes you."

"Good then," Klaus says. "I _hope_ so." He flings one arm dramatically over his head, still holding the cold-pack in place with his other hand. "He may be dead, but he is one nice piece of ass."

Ben, perched on Diego's cot for the moment, 'hmm's. And tilts his head, giving Klaus a thoughtful look. "Is that really what he is to you?"

Klaus makes a little groaning noise. "Ben, are you trying to get me to talk about my _feelings_? Whyyyy?"

"Ghost solidarity," Ben says—mostly just to wind Klaus up. Actually, after last night's argument, Ben's feeling like his ghost solidarity levels with Dave are at an all-time low. "You mean a lot to him. He was in love with you in the other timeline."

"Yeah, I know," Klaus says. He squeezes his eyes shut for a moment, and when he opens them again they're a little shinier than before. "It's confusing as fuck, actually. He's a ghost, right? But I'm not scared of him. He makes me feel ... god, I can't even explain what he makes me feel. Nobody's made me feel those things before. And all those stories he's told me about when we were together in Vietnam—I'm almost starting to feel like I can remember it. Like that really is a part of who I am. Even though, obviously," he waves his free hand, indicating his prone form, "not." And then he closes his eyes again, lets out a soft moan, and slides the cold pack down over his eyes.

"Klaus..." Ben says, "do you actually have a headache?"

Klaus slides the cold pack back up just far enough to give Ben a one-eyed squint. "Uh, did you miss how I've been telling you about it for the entire morning?"

"I thought you were just making up an excuse for not letting me use the typewriter."

"Oh. Well, that too. No typewriter privileges until ... _things_ are settled. But also my head is killing me."

Ben wants to discuss the _things_. But he's aware that saying 'don't take drugs' on an endless loop hasn't worked before, and isn't likely to work now. He needs to come at it sideways, somehow.

And he feels a little bad for not realizing until now that Klaus really is in pain. Especially considering that it's probably an aftereffect of the seizure, which technically makes it Ben's fault.

"Want me to rub your head?" he offers.

Klaus looks at him in surprise. And then shrugs, and says, "Sure."

Klaus scooches a little bit down the couch to make room for Ben at one end, and Ben transfers over from the cot. "Put your head on my lap if you want," he says, and Klaus does.

The last time they'd done this—damn. It would've been before Ben died. Klaus nursing a hangover of some kind, probably. Ben can't remember any specific instance, but there's a feeling of familiarity to the weight and warmth of his brother's head against his thighs, and the way the little tangles in Klaus's hair catch at Ben's fingers as he spreads them out and starts gently massaging tiny circles into Klaus's scalp.

Klaus makes a soft shudder, and a relieved-sounding sigh. "That's nice," he says. "Thanks." And then, after a moment, "I guess you won't be able to do this anymore if I start using again."

Ben's fingers falter for a moment as the 'if' echoes in his head. But he tries to keep his voice steady and neutral as he says, "Yeah, that would suck. I'm just starting to get used to touching things again."

"Maybe you could still possess me, though," Klaus says. "I feel like that's not so power-dependent. Oh, shit though—you probably wouldn't want to, would you? Because you're so straight edge."

Wow, that's a question that has never even occurred to Ben—since, happily, it hadn't come up yet. If he were to possess Klaus while Klaus is high, would Ben feel the high? Presumably, yes, the same way he inherits Klaus's hunger and headaches. "I'd rather not ... experience that," Ben says carefully. The whole possibility is disturbing to think about. God, what if he _liked_ it?

"Are you still going to want to possess me at all?" Klaus asks. "Even if I don't start using again, I mean. After, you know. Getting trapped and everything. I'm sorry about that. I kind of panicked, and I didn't think about how my body might not be totally comfortable for you."

"Mmmm," Ben stalls, working away at Klaus's scalp with his fingers. They need to talk about this, they really do. And it's a bit of a relief to do it while Dave isn't here giving Ben disapproving looks. But Ben doesn't even have a simple answer to Klaus's question. "Do you promise not to hold on to me like that again?" he asks, since that's at least an important data point.

"Yeah, yeah," Klaus sighs. "Too bad the possession thing only works with me. I bet Diego's body would feel better for you."

"Huh?" Ben tries to imagine, for a moment, _being_ Diego the way he's been Klaus. It's a very strange thought. "What makes you say that?"

"Oh, you know. He's all manly and healthy."

Uh oh. "Klaus," Ben says. "About that ... I said some things yesterday that I really don't want you to take the wrong way. I was trying to explain to you _and_ Diego and Vanya that I'm absolutely not secretly hoping to take over your body on a permanent basis. Your body isn't a perfect fit for me. That doesn't mean there's anything _wrong_ with it. If it were possible for me to possess Diego, I'd probably get uncomfortable being _him_ eventually, too."

Klaus lets out a little snort. "All those muscles," he says. "You'd get so tired of flexing them."

"And I'm sorry for outing you to Diego and Vanya, by the way," Ben adds. "About the gender stuff. If that wasn't a conversation that you wanted to have with them. I didn't think before I spoke."

Klaus shrugs. "No biggie. You know I don't actually care about that stuff very much, Benny. Labels, meh. Anyway, I figure they must've sort of already known. And they sort of still don't."

"What do you mean?"

" _You_ didn't even believe me. Until you walked a mile in my bare feet." He grins at his own modified cliché.

"I believed you," Ben contradicts him. "Or, I tried to, anyway. I didn't ... completely understand."

"It's a bit weird," Klaus says, "thinking about you knowing me _that_ well. Like, from the inside. And you already knew me waaaay better than any normal person would know another person."

"That's for sure," Ben agrees. And stops short of voicing his followup thought, which is that he might actually know Klaus better than Klaus knows himself. Anyway, Ben's been a lot more present for the last nine years of Klaus's life than Klaus has. "It's been really good, these past few weeks," he says instead, "seeing you getting the chance to let down your guard and relax."

Klaus slits a suspicious look up at Ben. Like he can hear the 'so please don't start doing drugs again' on the tip of Ben's tongue. But Ben doesn't say it.

"It's almost getting a little boring, isn't it?" Klaus asks. "All this quiet time."

"No," Ben says instantly. "I love reading books and hanging out with you and Vanya and Diego and Dave."

"Oh yeah." Klaus closes his eyes again. "I guess you would've been more bored before, when you couldn't talk to anybody."

"Uh huh," Ben agrees.

"If Diego and Vanya will still talk to me, I can still pass on messages for you at least," Klaus says. The 'after I start using drugs again' is implicit, and Ben doesn't like the way it sounds like Klaus is bargaining and making plans.

"You're not thinking of starting using again because you're _bored_ , are you?" Ben asks, letting his voice curl up in incredulity.

"What? No, no no. I was observing, not complaining. Being bored is fine. It's like a vacation."

Ben's tempted to make a crack about how it would be hard for Klaus to know what a vacation's like since he's never had a job. But. The joke sours on his tongue before he even makes it. Because actually, feeding his drug addiction _has_ been a full-time job for Klaus; one he hasn't been able to take any time off from in years. "It doesn't have to end," he says instead. Trying that little sideways move.

"I dunno, though, Ben," Klaus says. "I feel like—I was safer before. There wasn't anywhere to fall. Nobody cared what I did except for you, and _you_ were pretty much over me. _I_ didn't even care, as long as I stayed high enough. Now I've climbed so far out of that hole, if I slip I'm going to break every bone in my body."

Ben takes a moment to try to sort through Klaus's metaphor. He keeps scritching Klaus's scalp with his fingertips while he thinks. "You're scared because you're discovering you don't have to be a fuck-up?"

"I'm scared because I'm _temporarily_ not a fuck-up, and everybody's developing expectations." Klaus lets out a hollow little laugh. "How the hell did Luther deal with all that pressure, all those years?"

"Um." Rubbing his thumbs against the places outside of Klaus's eyes. "He threw up before every mission, remember?"

"Mmmm, right. Yeah, you're really selling this 'stay sober' thing."

"Can we talk about this?" Ben asks. "Actually? Without you shutting down?"

"Can we talk about it without you turning into an arrogant, self-righteous, judgmental prick?"

Ben curls his fingers inwards and gives Klaus's scalp a little warning scrape with his fingernails. And Klaus giggles, because of course he does.

"How about let's deal with it calmly and rationally," Ben suggests. "List the pros and the cons." He feels 100% confident that the logical conclusion is 'stay sober,' so this is a good approach. "You can do that, right? You've been clean for over a month. I didn't feel any withdrawal pangs when I was possessing you for four days."

"Pro:" Klaus says instantly. "Nothing matters anymore and nobody cares about me."

Oh, oops, Ben had meant to frame the question as 'pros and cons of staying sober,' not 'pros and cons of taking the pills.' He performs a quick mental flip of all his positives and negatives. And then tries to engage with what Klaus just said. "That's not even remotely a pro."

"How isn't it?"

Klaus's rock-bottom self-esteem is so tragic it crosses the border into annoying. Ben doesn't try to hide his irritation as he says, "It's not even _true_ , Klaus. Diego and Vanya aren't going to give up on you now. Neither is Dave, I'm pretty sure. And _I'm_ sure as hell not."

"They will, though," Klaus says. "Vanya and Diego, I mean. When I start stealing from them to pay for the drugs."

"Again, this is not a _pro_ ," Ben says. "Yes, you can probably destroy your relationship with them and force them to push you away for their own protection. And they'll be _heartbroken_. Have you not been paying attention to how much they love you?"

"But it's all _wrong_ ," Klaus whines softly. "I don't deserve it."

Oh, fuck. Ben wishes Dave were here. Or Diego or Vanya. They're probably _all_ better suited to convince Klaus he's worthy of love than Ben is. Ben's just never had a knack for that kind of thing. He's been failing to convince Klaus of it for as long as he can remember.

But Ben is the person that Klaus voices these thoughts to.

So Ben tries a different tack. "It's not all about what _you_ deserve, you know," he says. "Vanya and Diego need you."

Klaus's disbelieving snort is entirely predictable.

But Ben has hard evidence to bring to bear. "Take Vanya," he says. "Do you have any idea how much you've done in the past month to make up for her whole shitty childhood?"

"I mean, the discovering-her-powers thing was an accident," Klaus says. "And it happened _because_ I'm a junkie."

"I'm not even talking about that," Ben says. "I'm talking about how lonely she was before. And now she isn't. I watched you two during the guitar lesson this morning. That's not just something she's doing _for_ you, Klaus. She was having so much fun."

"Mmm," Klaus says, which is one of his typical noises when Ben is super-duper right but Klaus isn't emotionally ready to admit it. "Okay, but she doesn't need me. She's got Diego. And Helen."

"Oh yeah, that's another thing," Ben says. "Remember, oh, a few weeks ago, the _last_ time you pulled this nobody-likes me thing and Vanya and Diego tried to convince you that they did? Vanya specifically mentioned your gender non-conformity. As something she _valued_ about you. And maybe none of us thought much about it at the time, but two weeks later she brought home a girlfriend. And just implicitly counted on you to have her back. So, yeah. I think having a queer sibling to lean on really helped her there. That's not something she can get from Diego."

"Diego's sweet but oblivious," Klaus says, which is close enough to agreement that Ben's ready to count it as a win. "I've lost track of how many times I've had to come out to him. I think _maybe_ it'll stick this time, with Dave as my live-in ghost boyfriend."

"So," Ben says. "Vanya and Diego love you and need you. _Strong_ points in favor of flushing the pills."

"But," Klaus says. "Dad wants me back."

"Fuck that," Ben says immediately. They've been _over_ this, but Ben knows why it's a hard fear for Klaus to let go of, so Ben will reassure him as many times as he has to. "You're not going back. Diego and Vanya understand how much he fucked you up, and they are _not_ going to let him get anywhere near you. Anyway, remember how the best revenge is a life well lived? If you destroy yourself to keep away from him, you're just finishing what he started."

"I think the life I _was_ living was pretty good revenge," Klaus says. "Sex, drugs, rock'n'roll. Every dirty day of it was a middle finger to dear old dad."

"Um," Ben says. "Can we talk about your life? Without yelling at each other?"

"I dunno," Klaus says. "Can you?"

"If you start using again," Ben says, "if we have to leave here ... you'll be back to the endless struggle of trying to find somewhere to sleep every night, trying to get enough money for drugs, trying to remember to _eat_. Klaus, that _sucked_."

"There are some logistical hurdles," Klaus admits. "Now that Eddie's in jail."

_Do not yell, do not yell._ "Logistical hurdles," Ben says, "is not how I'd phrase it."

Klaus tosses the cold pack to the floor so that he can have an unobstructed sight-line up to Ben. He narrows his eyes. "How would you phrase it?"

Dangerous waters.

Klaus is convinced that Ben is disgusted by the things Klaus does to get drugs. By the sex work, in particular. It's a sore point for both of them, because actually in the early days Ben _was_ horrified. He'd had a sheltered life, okay? Before he died, he hadn't even _realized_ that Klaus wasn't entirely (or even mostly) financing his drug addiction by stealing knickknacks from Dad. So when Ben started haunting Klaus and found out, he subjected Klaus to a very fraught and poorly-thought-out lecture about self-respect, and boundaries that shouldn't be crossed. Ever since then, Klaus has been brittle on the topic with Ben.

But Ben's had nine years to get over his naïveté, and in fact to read a bunch of pamphlets at rehab and to develop firm (and pointless) political opinions about how sex work should be decriminalized, and the workers should be treated with respect and given legal protection from bad clients and and and. But. He still finds it very upsetting every time Klaus lets somebody who doesn't love or respect him use his body in that way.

"I feel a lot safer," Ben says carefully, "when you're not sleeping with people who want to hurt you."

"Technically," Klaus says, "I like being hurt."

Klaus's intention is obviously to derail the conversation. But Ben's not falling for it; he's not a sheltered seventeen-year-old anymore (even if he is the ghost of one). "I'm not talking about your kinks," Ben says, and he's _fairly_ sure he managed to make that sound disinterested and casual and not embarrassed. "You know what I mean, Klaus."

Klaus gives a little sigh. "Yeah, actually, it might be a little hard to go back to all that. After all _this_."

"Yeah?" Ben prompts, encouragingly. And starts rubbing Klaus's head again, which he's been neglecting for the last minute or so.

"I know you don't like hearing about my sex life," Klaus says. And then just closes his eyes and lets out a soft moan that's timed to the head-scritches, so even though that didn't sound like the end of the thought, it kind of seems to be.

"How's your headache?" Ben asks.

"Splitting."

"I don't like _watching_ you have sex," Ben says. "I wish you didn't get into so many situations where I don't feel safe leaving you alone with the other person."

"Or people," Klaus interjects with a faint smirk.

"But if there's something you want to talk about, I'm here for it," Ben says.

"Okay, um, Dave. I think he's going to ruin me."

Ben's ghost-blood goes cold, and his fingers stall on Klaus's scalp. "Did he hurt you?" Ben _trusted_ Dave, he left him _alone_ with Klaus, _fuck_....

"What?! No, yikes, back _down_ Ben." The alarmed look Klaus shoots up at him alerts Ben to the fact that he's gone rigid and is scowling fiercely. Ben relaxes with an effort, and Klaus goes on, "The opposite of that. It feels like ... he never would. And ... and like he wants to have sex with me because he _cares_ about me, and not just because of how I'm good at getting him off."

"Um," Ben says. "I think that's how sex is _supposed_ to feel." Speaking entirely hypothetically, unfortunately.

"Yeah." Klaus shivers a little; Ben feels the vibration through his thighs. "So that's what I'm saying. It might be hard to go back to the other way."

Is this an opening? An acceptable point in the conversation to firmly express his hopes? "I don't want you to have to go back to the other way," Ben says. " _Please_ , Klaus."

Klaus doesn't say anything in reply. Ben keeps rubbing his head. Hardly breathing (not that he needs to).

Finally Klaus just rolls onto his side, shifting his head on Ben's lap. "I'm tired," he says. "I want to have a nap."

Oh well. A firm 'I will never do drugs again' was too much to hope for. But Klaus still hasn't taken the pills, so there's that. "Okay, but as soon as you fall asleep you're going to fall through my legs," Ben points out.

Klaus lets out an annoyed 'hmph,' and curls up a little more so that he can slide his head off Ben's lap and rest it directly on the couch cushions.

"I'll keep rubbing your head until you fall asleep if you want," Ben offers.

"Yeah, that'd be nice," Klaus murmurs. And then, after Ben's been doing that for a minute or so, he adds, "I wish you weren't dead."

Ben sighs. "Yeah, me too."

"Would you have run away from home with me, though?" Klaus asks. "If you were alive."

Realistically, Ben can't answer that question. If he hadn't died when he did, so many things would have been different. But Klaus isn't asking for an academic paper on alternate-timeline theories. He's asking for reassurance of Ben's love. "Yes," Ben says. "Of course I would have."

"You wouldn't have stuck with me, though," Klaus says. "Through all that."

"If I'd been alive," Ben says, " _you_ wouldn't have had to go through all that. I could've protected you better."

Klaus snorts a little disbelieving laugh. "Nice thought, but no. Diego tried, and look where that got him."

"Diego," Ben says, "can't channel an interdimensional tentacle monster through his belly."

"What the hell," Klaus says, but the words are a little blurred, like he's halfway to sleep, "do you think you could've done with _tentacles_?"

Absolutely nothing. Ben was as horrified by his power, when he was alive, as Klaus was of his own. But now that he's nine years dead and doesn't have that power anymore, it feels safe to make empty promises. "Smacked down everyone who tried to hurt you," he says. "And then hugged you with seventeen arms."

Klaus smiles, eyes still closed, and doesn't say anything else.

Ben keeps rubbing his brother's head until his fingers go insubstantial and whiff through Klaus's skull.

* * *

Diego wakes Klaus up for supper. Vanya's still out; she had an afternoon rehearsal with the orchestra, and this evening she has her final performance with her old ensemble. Diego suggests setting the typewriter up at the dinner table, but Klaus makes the headache excuse yet again. Diego looks skeptical but doesn't call him on it, and neither does Ben.

Dave doesn't show up again until one in the morning. By that time, all of the living siblings are asleep. Ben somehow missed the negotiations, but Klaus is in Vanya's bed with Vanya, and Diego's on his own on the cot in the guys' room.

"Hey," Dave says, coming into Vanya's room.

Ben raises an eyebrow. "Welcome back."

Dave shrugs, and stuffs his hands in his pocket. "Sorry. I needed some time to ... think. How's he doing?"

"He hasn't taken the pills," Ben says. "He also hasn't told Diego or Vanya about them. And he wouldn't let me talk to them all day."

"Okay," Dave says. He looks at Klaus. "Did you tell him about what I said?"

"About when he broke up with you in Vietnam? Or when I saw you crying in the hospital?" Ben shakes his head. "Didn't come up."

Dave's shoulders relax. "Okay."

"You should, though," Ben says.

Dave looks at him.

"He deserves the truth, and _you_ deserve to have him see you for who you really are," Ben says. And yeah, maybe he shouldn't be giving relationship advice given that he's never been in one and he's also never seen _Klaus_ have a healthy one, but—god damn it, he's read a lot of books. "He's falling for you pretty hard. Maybe you should try trusting him."

Dave makes a complicated face. And then after a moment, he says, "Thanks for the advice. I'll think about it."

"Okay," Ben says. And then, as a peace offering, "Want me to read to you?"

Dave gives a faint smile. Sinks down to sit on the floor, resting his back against the wall. "Sure," he says. "That'd be nice."

* * *

A couple of hours later, Klaus wakes up from a nightmare.

It's a subtle waking; Ben doesn't even notice, at first, being absorbed in the chapter of _Shards of Honor_ that he's reading out loud.

Dave is the one who looks up and says "Klaus?" quietly, but with concern.

Klaus has curled up into a ball—away from Vanya, and without waking her—and he's whimpering around the fingers of his left hand, which are stuffed in his mouth.

"Okay, honey, you're safe, it's okay," Dave says. He's trying to tug Klaus's hand away from his mouth, but Dave's own hand is still insubstantial. "Can you talk to me? Tell me the fingering for the chords Vanya's been teaching you."

Klaus's eyes slit open, and they're glittering with tears. He shakes his head.

"Sure you can," Dave says soothingly. "I remember her telling you, and you repeating it. The G chord. Which strings, and which frets?"

"I can't," Klaus whispers. At least he took his fingers out of his mouth to do it. "I can't I can't I can't."

"Can you make me solid enough to hold you?" Dave asks, still in that same steady voice.

Klaus shakes his head and emits a stifled wail, but a moment later Dave is gathering him into a hug, so apparently the solid thing happened anyway.

"I want the pills," Klaus whispers into Dave's shoulder, in a voice that's half sob. "I'm sorry, I can't I can't it's too much just let me go I'm sorry."

'Where are they?' Dave mouths silently, making eye contact with Ben.

Ben shakes his head and shrugs. He has no idea where Klaus hid them. Even if he did know, he's not sure if he'd tell Dave, because he doesn't actually know if Dave is asking because he wants to keep Klaus away from them or because he wants to respect Klaus's extremely stupid self-destructive wishes.

"Why don't you wake Vanya up," Dave suggests, stroking Klaus's hair. "She could make you some herbal tea." That's a thing that she's done, a few other nights.

" _Tea_ won't make the screaming stop," Klaus retorts in an anguished whisper.

"Okay, so let's go for a walk," Dave says. "Clear your head."

"What?" Ben says. "It's the middle of the night."

"Just the two of us," Dave persists, with a quelling look at Ben.

Klaus sniffles, and blinks at Dave. "Without Ben?"

"I've been hoping to get the chance to talk with you alone," Dave says. "Sometimes it seems harder to get you alone here than it was in _Vietnam_ , and back there we were sleeping in a tent with seven other guys."

The distraction seems to be working to calm Klaus down, at least. "It must have been so weird for me," he says, sniffling again, "landing there without Ben. I never even told you about him?"

"Not exactly," Dave says. "There were some things you said sometimes that make more sense now that I know about him."

"You're not really going outside, though, are you?" Ben says. "It's three in the morning. And I think it's snowing."

"It is," Dave confirms. "Just a little. Everything's really pretty. Covered in white sparkles. It's a long way from the jungle. We'll be okay."

* * *

Somehow, over Ben's objections, Klaus quietly leaves Vanya's room, puts on his coat (and Vanya's hat and Diego's gloves) over his sleeping-clothes, and leaves the apartment in Dave's company.

Ben could follow them. Klaus has no way to _stop_ him. But Dave's firm and friendly 'See you later, Ben' at the door is a very clear signal, and honestly Ben doesn't want to get in another fight with the only two people in the world he can talk to.

Ben wonders if Dave's idea was to get Klaus out of the apartment and away from the drugs until he's recovered from the nightmare. If so, it's a bad plan—the city is _full_ of drugs, and Klaus is very good at getting them. Plus, there's a good chance the pills are still in the pocket of Klaus's coat.

With Klaus out of the house, there's not much Ben can do apart from worrying. He can't read books if Klaus isn't in the room. Even if Vanya and Diego were awake, Ben would have no way to communicate with them, but in any case they're both fast asleep.

He tries looking for the pills, in case they aren't in Klaus's coat, but really the only way he could find them would be if they were out in the open somewhere. Which they aren't.

Meanwhile, he can feel Klaus, the gravitational center of Ben's universe, getting farther and farther away.

Eventually, Ben just sits on Vanya's bed and pays attention to the feeling of Klaus's location. As long as it's moving steadily, Klaus is probably okay. There's a bit of stop-and-starting, which tracks in terms of Klaus and Dave needing to wait for traffic lights when they cross main streets. But at least Ben knows that Klaus hasn't taken one of the pills and passed out in an alley.

Klaus gets farther and farther away, for an _hour_.

And then he starts coming back.

Ben tracks his steady progress by feel, rejoicing in every moment that brings Klaus closer. He doesn't have a completely precise sense of distance; he can't tell the difference between two blocks away, and one. But he's pretty sure he feels when Klaus enters the apartment building.

And then Klaus stops. Downstairs, in the foyer?

He stays down there for _fifteen minutes_. Ben barely stops himself from going down to check on him three separate times. When he finally feels Klaus's presence rising up the building stairs, Ben goes out to the living room. He's there when Klaus opens the door.

Klaus's coat and hat and eyebrows are all beaded with mostly-melted snow. Dave, at his side, is of course untouched by precipitation. But Ben notices with a little bemusement that Dave has chosen to manifest a fleece-lined leather bomber jacket, so that he appears to be appropriately dressed for the weather.

"Hi Ben," Klaus says, the corner of his mouth pulling up in a little wry curl. "You didn't have to wait up."

"I don't sleep," Ben reminds him, superfluously.

Klaus closes and locks the apartment door behind him. Ben's hoping for an explanation for the long absence, maybe even an apology for making Ben worry, but instead Klaus turns to Dave and they start making out.

Ben's about to let out a reflexive brotherly groan (and the always tempting tension-cutting 'Get a room, you guys!'—except with Vanya and Diego asleep in their respective bedrooms, actually this _is_ the only room available), but. There's something different about the way Klaus and Dave are kissing each other this time, compared to the other times Ben's seen them do it. It's not playful and flirty. Dave's cupping a hand protectively to the side of Klaus's face, and the two of them are touching foreheads almost as much as kissing, and Klaus's expression is so _soft_ , and it looks like they've just been through a disaster together and they're trying to support each other coming out of it. Ben flushes and looks away.

"Ben," Klaus says after a minute, calling Ben's attention back. "I need a favor." The kissing is done, but Klaus and Dave are holding hands and their shoulders are pressed together.

Klaus's voice is gravelly, Ben notices, and his eyes are bloodshot. He's definitely been crying. A lot. Maybe the whole fifteen minutes down in the foyer.

And Dave—his eyes aren't red. But he's not doing the I-am-so-calm, nothing-can-get-to-me thing, either. He looks tired, and worried.

"What is it?" Ben asks.

"Possess me," Klaus says. "And get rid of the pills."


	30. Chapter 30

"What?" Ben says.

"Possess me," Klaus repeats. "Please? I don't ... trust myself. If they're in my hand. But I want them to be gone. I want to stay sober and keep making this work. All of it." He drifts sideways a little, leaning more heavily against Dave.

Dave is looking slightly anguished, and Ben can only guess what he's thinking. Dave has never liked Ben possessing Klaus, and they're just coming off of Klaus's desperate four-day retreat inside his own body, during which time Dave must have wondered if he'd ever see Klaus again.

So it's pretty clear whose idea this plan was.

But after all the fuss Dave made about respecting Klaus's choices, it's not like he can speak against this one now.

"Yeah, okay," Ben says. "But I'm out again as soon as I flush the pills, all right? Don't hang on to me." After what happened last time, if Klaus _does_ cling to Ben, Ben doesn't think he'll be able to bring himself to fight his way free. That last seizure was fucking terrifying.

"Yeah, yeah," Klaus says. "Promise. I wouldn't do that to you, Benny."

Ugh, Klaus's emotional damage is such a minefield. "Sharing your body is a privilege, Klaus," Ben says, completely sincerely. After everything that's happened in the past few days, he thinks they're definitely going to need to be careful about it for a while; Klaus is obviously still not in a great place, and Ben's not at all confident that he won't pull that disappearing act again. But Ben would really regret it if he never got to possess Klaus at all in the future. "Getting to be physically present in the world, getting to be with Vanya and Diego, is amazing. I am _literally_ the luckiest ghost in the world, to have you as a brother."

"Hm, you say that now," Klaus says, wrinkling his nose. "But I'm not giving you much of a gift tonight. I feel like crap."

"It's all right," Ben says. "I'll handle it; it can't be worse than the first few times I possessed you. So, where are the pills?"

Klaus's hand tightens visibly around Dave's. "In the guitar."

"Okay." Ben nods. "You ready?"

Dave touches Klaus's face, looking worried. "Come back to me right after, okay honey?"

Klaus nods—first to Dave, then to Ben.

And then Ben steps _in_.

The first shock, after the brief facing-the-other-way disorientation, is that Dave is gone. Well, of course he is. Klaus's power doesn't transfer to Ben. But Dave had been so _intensely_ by Klaus's side, Ben had somehow expected to find himself in Klaus's body still holding Dave's hand. Instead, Klaus's fingers are curled around nothing.

Ben takes stock of the rest of the physical situation. It's always best to give himself a moment to adjust to gravity before he tries moving—not to mention all the differences between Klaus's body and Ben's.

Klaus wasn't exaggerating about feeling crappy. The headache that Klaus was complaining about all day is still present; it feels like a throbbing band pulled tight around his head, with extra little stabby pains behind his eyes. His eyes feel tender and gritty, his throat is sore and his nose is stuffed up. Klaus really must have been crying a lot. Ben hasn't felt like this since he stopped breaking down after missions.

Anyway, Ben has a task to accomplish. He strips off Klaus's snowy outdoor things, and then pads softly down the hallway. He remembers that Klaus left the guitar in his bedroom at the end of the day. His feet hurt when he walks, and Ben recalls Klaus's long barefoot journey last night; he can feel the bandages under his socks.

The guys' bedroom is dark, since Diego's sleeping in there without Klaus. Ben leaves the lights off, thinking he's less likely to wake Diego up that way, but then he bangs his shin against the edge of the couch and doesn't manage to bite back the resulting expletive. He's not used to pain _or_ sneaking. He freezes for a moment; the springs on Diego's cot creak, but Diego doesn't say anything.

Ben manages to retrieve the guitar without further incident. He brings it to the bathroom, where he can examine it with the lights on.

Peering through the hole in the guitar's front, he can see the little baggie. It's loose inside the instrument. Getting it out is easier said than done, though. There isn't room for Ben to slide his fingers past the strings and into the hole. Finally he ends up holding the guitar upside down over his head and shaking it, urging the little baggie to fall. It finally does, catching on the strings. Ben plucks it free with a triumphant, "Gotcha!"

And Diego clears his throat.

Ben looks up in startled, reflexive guilt. He nearly drops the guitar.

Diego's standing in the open doorway to the bathroom, leaning against the door frame. Glaring at Ben.

"This isn't what it looks like!" Ben says quickly.

"Yeah?" Diego asks in a lazy drawl. "What does it look like?"

"No, seriously," Ben says. "I'm not Klaus, I'm Ben. Klaus asked me to get rid of the pills."

"Oh." Diego straightens up. "Okay then."

Ben doesn't waste any time. The pills are in his hand now, and Klaus didn't think he could handle this part, and Klaus is _in_ there somewhere, seeing this, feeling this. If Klaus has second thoughts now and starts fighting to take back control of his body, things could get messy.

Ben peels apart the ziplock, shakes the bag out over the open toilet bowl, and watches the three little pills tumble down. He flushes.

Mission accomplished. He can feel the tension draining out of his own shoulders and neck, and when he looks around, Diego's looking pretty relieved too.

"So, you wanna tell me _what's_ been going on?" Diego asks.

According to the agreed-upon plan, Ben's supposed to get out of Klaus's body now. But he figures it couldn't hurt to apprise Diego of the situation. There are things Diego needs to know that Klaus might be reluctant or unable to tell him. "Klaus wasn't high when you found him in the alley yesterday," he says. "He bought the pills, but he never took any."

Diego looks a little skeptical. "Are you sure? He seemed pretty out of it."

"He was having a hard night," Ben says. "When he came to in the hospital there were a lot of ghosts. And he was really freaked out about Dad."

Diego grimaces. "Yeah, I know."

"He got the idea that if he started taking drugs again, Dad would lose interest in him."

" _Shit_ ," Diego says.

"Dave and I talked him out of it," Ben adds quickly. "And I promised him that you and Vanya wouldn't let Dad anywhere near him, so—that's all on you, okay? I wish I could help, but I can't."

Diego nods. And there's a knife suddenly spinning in his hand, because Diego. "Don't worry, Klaus," Diego says. "We've gotcha."

Ben shivers. Seeing that look in Diego's eyes directed at him—even if it's not _really_ directed at him—gives him such an intense, complicated feeling of safety.

There's a sudden prickling feeling in his sinuses, and he thinks he might be about to start crying—which is a _Klaus_ thing, not a Ben thing, and jeez Klaus's endocrine system really does feel different from Ben's—but a moment later his lungs expand involuntarily and he realizes he's been reading the physical signals entirely wrong. He barely manages to turn away from Diego before he sneezes.

"Gesundheit," Diego says, stilling his knife.

"That was weird," Ben says, sniffing. "Bodies are weird." And then he recontextualizes some of the things that he's been feeling since he possessed Klaus. The sore throat, the stuffed-up nose—oh. Klaus definitely _has_ been crying, but—"I think Klaus is getting sick again."

Diego winces. "You sure? Fuck."

"He gets sick a lot, especially in the winter," Ben mentions—which is meant to be reassuring, in a nothing-unusual-here kind of way, though it doesn't make Diego look any less worried. It has been only a couple of weeks since Klaus recovered from the pneumonia, so Diego's reaction is understandable. "He usually shakes it off okay in a week or two."

"Yeah, well, how about you get him to bed," Diego suggests. "Can you make him go to sleep? Does that work?"

Ben can't answer, because his sinuses are burning again. This time, anticipating what's happening, he manages to muffle the sneeze politely against his elbow. At the same time that his torso bends forward, he feels a little internal _nudge_. The combination of sensations is confusing enough that he almost misses the cue, but just in time he realizes what he's feeling—Klaus is pushing him out. He manages not to resist; he stumbles gracelessly out of Klaus's body and catches himself against the bathroom sink.

Klaus, in possession of his own body again, is shivering. Not seizing, though—Ben was successful in not resisting the nudge at all.

"Jesus, Ben, you okay?" Diego asks, moving in to steady him. "I think we'd really better get Klaus into bed."

Dave has just reappeared at Klaus's side, but it looks like he can't see Ben yet.

"I'm fine," Klaus says, shaking Diego off. "We should talk some more about Klaus's many faults."

Diego tilts his head. "Oh, hi Klaus."

Klaus stares at him. "What? How did you—no! I'm definitely still Ben."

"You trying to pull that off would be kind of disturbing," Diego says, "if there was the remotest chance of me falling for it."

"Klaus!" Dave exclaims happily, and gathers him into a firm hug.

"I did it," Klaus murmurs into Dave's neck, and then they're kissing.

"Hi Dave," Diego says.

"I mean, technically _I_ did it," Ben says, not that anyone but Klaus can even hear him.

Dave and Klaus finish their kiss, and pull back and gaze adoringly into each others' eyes. Ben wonders what _happened_ out on that walk.

"Hey, Klaus?" Diego interjects. "I'm proud of you, man. And I'm sorry I assumed you were high last night."

Klaus acknowledges this with a shuddery, deflecting shrug, and a vague flip of his hand. "Not to worry. Understandable conclusion to jump to." Meanwhile, he's sort of backing into Dave's arms. Dave easily shifts into holding him, one hand across Klaus's chest and the other one lower, his thumb tracing Klaus's hipbone.

"Me too," Ben says, before the moment's lost. "Klaus. I'm really proud of you."

Klaus rolls his eyes. "I mean, technically, _you_ did it."

"Only in a completely unimportant, literal sense," Ben admits freely. "It was your decision to stay sober. You were feeling awful, and the drugs were right there, and you decided to get rid of them. You didn't think you were strong enough to do this, but you _are_."

* * *

Klaus does get a couple more hours' sleep, wrapped in Diego's arms on the cot, with Dave close by on the couch. Klaus remembers to restore Dave's power to see Ben before he falls asleep, but Dave doesn't seem to be in the mood for talking. When Ben offers to read out loud, Dave shakes his head, so Ben reads silently while Dave just watches Klaus sleep.

Vanya knocks on the guys' bedroom door at seven thirty in the morning. "Diego, is Klaus in there?" she calls out, sounding slightly frantic.

Ben watches Diego startle awake. "What was that, Van?" he calls back muzzily, while trying to extract himself from Klaus's clinging grip.

The door opens, and Vanya comes in with her hand over her eyes. "Sorry, are you decent?" she asks. "Klaus was gone when I woke up. Have you seen him?"

Diego, meanwhile, has just fallen off the cot and hit the floor with a yelp. And the movement has woken up Klaus, who's started coughing. Out of long habit, Ben ghost-moves over to Klaus's side so he can check how bad the cough is. It doesn't have that rattly lung-infection sound yet, he notes with relief. Probably Klaus's throat is just irritated.

Dave sits up on the couch and catches Ben's eye with a wry look, which Ben feels fairly safe in interpreting as patient exasperation with the foibles of the living.

"We're all decent, Van, you can peek," Diego says, rubbing his elbow with a wince. "Klaus came in with me around 5:30."

"Oh," Vanya says. She lowers her hand, and relaxes. "Did you have a bad dream, Klaus? You could've woken me up."

"No, it's fine," Klaus says. His voice is scratchy as hell, and it sounds like his nose is stuffed up. "Dave took me for a walk."

"Wait, you went _out_?" Diego says, looking up in sharp alarm. "Out _side_? _Alone_? In the middle of the night?"

Klaus rolls his eyes. "Not alone. With Dave."

"And what the hell would _Dave_ do if somebody decided to jump you? He hasn't even figured out how to use the _typewriter_." Diego frowns. "No offense, Dave."

"Uuugh, come on, Deego," Klaus says. "I've been homeless since I was eighteen. I can take care of myself."

Diego eyes him. "That is not the compelling argument that you apparently think it is. I would've thought Dave at least had more sense than to take you for a walk in the snow when you're sick."

"Yeeeaaah," Dave says, giving Klaus a rueful look. "If you'd mentioned you were coming down with a cold, I might've suggested we just talk in the living room."

" _Why_ is everybody assuming I'm sick?" Klaus asks, glaring around at them. "Just because Ben said so?"

"He's a pretty reliable witness," Diego says. "Considering he was inside your body at the time. Also, you sound like shit this morning, buddy."

"Wait, Ben possessed Klaus again?" Vanya says, looking startled. "When?"

So Diego relates the story of finding Ben in the bathroom flushing Klaus's drugs. He doesn't forget to mention the crucial detail that it had been Klaus's idea.

"Klaus, that's really great," Vanya says, giving him a proud look.

"That I need my ghost brother to have willpower for me?" Klaus mutters, hugging his knees and looking cranky.

"Take the win, Klaus," Ben advises him. "You deserve it."

* * *

Since everybody's awake, Vanya offers to make breakfast.

"Want some help with that?" Diego asks immediately. Dave gives him an approving smile, which of course Diego can't see.

Vanya looks pleased. "That would be great."

"I can, like, scramble eggs or something," Klaus says. "If somebody else does the shell-cracking part. Unless you like eggshells in your eggs? Nice crunch. Lots of calcium."

"Um." Vanya raises an eyebrow. "I'm not sure if you should be helping with food prep when you're sick."

"I'm not sick," Klaus insists, in a self-contradicting croak. "Ben's just not used to how my body feels randomly terrible sometimes."

Ben rolls his eyes. "It's not random. You feel terrible when you're sick, or withdrawing, or hung over, or hungry."

"We each slept half the night with Klaus," Diego points out to Vanya at the same time, ignoring Klaus and unaware of Ben. "No point worrying about his germs now. Let's just set him up at the table and give him something easy to do."

"Can we bring in the typewriter?" Ben asks, immediately.

"Yeah, yeah." Klaus waves a hand. "Typewriter privileges restored."

So, Vanya mixes up pancakes, Diego fries bacon, and Klaus slices strawberries. Dave sits next to Klaus and, after approving his paring knife technique, just snuggles him. Ben hooks an ankle around Klaus's and flexes his fingers over the typewriter.

**How was the concert last night?**

"Ben wants to know how your performance went, Vanvan," Klaus reports, reading it off the sheet. And then he frowns. "You know, if nobody's looking at the typewriter except for me, it kind of defeats the purpose."

"Oh." Vanya pushes her hair back, smudging a little flour across her forehead. "Sorry, I'll come over and look the next time I hear him typing. Um, it went well! Helen came to see me, actually. Since it was my last time with my old group, she figured it was her only chance to see me from the audience." She bites her lip. "Since she was listening, I did, um, show off a bit. I threw a little of my power into the final piece."

Klaus grins. "You're a wicked woman, Vanyaya."

"Yeah, I think I'm going to have to be careful with that," Vanya says. "The cellist came to me afterwards and begged me to stay with the ensemble. In tears."

"Hmmm." Klaus looks impressed. "Our sister the siren. Allison better watch out for you. You'll be coming for her on the red carpet."

Vanya flushes a little. "Actually, I don't think I _want_ that. Not at her level. I mean, in the abstract, I was always jealous of her. But now that it's attainable? I don't want that life."

Klaus tilts his head curiously. "What do you want, Van?"

"Oh, wow. Well." She pours some pancake batter onto the hot pan. "Do you have those strawberries ready?" At Klaus's affirmative gesture, she collects the bowl of fruit. "I want to get to know the orchestra, and find my place with them. I want to see where things go with Helen. I want to keep exploring what I can do with music, with and without my power, but—I don't think I want to do the power-exploration in public. At least not yet."

"First pancake ready?" Diego asks. "Give it here." He holds out a plate. Then he does something with the bacon and strawberries, and brings the plate to the table. "Here you go," he says to Klaus. "First one's yours."

Klaus lets out a delighted yelp, and chirps "Diego, that's _precious_!"

Ben looks over and sees that Diego has given the pancake a bacon smile, and strawberry eyes.

Dave looks too, and snorts.

**Like Mom always did,** Ben types by way of explanation.

Diego tilts up his chin. "It's the only right way to do it," he asserts firmly, and goes to assemble the next one.

* * *

Klaus only picks at his breakfast. Diego calls him on it once he and Vanya have already cleaned their plates. "C'mon, man. I gave it a happy face and everything."

"I'm not hungry," Klaus shrugs.

"Because you're sick," Diego says. "But you still need to eat."

Klaus rolls his eyes and does a little 'yap yap yap' motion with his left hand. Diego glares.

"I love living with you guys," Vanya says.

**Was that sarcasm?** Ben asks. **You never used to be sarcastic.**

"It wasn't!" Vanya insists. "I really do! I used to have a boiled egg and two pieces of toast for breakfast every day, and it took fifteen minutes, and I listened to the radio. Every day, for—oh God, at least the last five years."

**You were lonely.**

Vanya nods. "Our childhood was an absolute disaster, but at least we always ate together."

**Remember those awful wilderness-survival records Dad used to make us listen to while we ate?**

Vanya laughs, and groans. "I still remember how to tell the temperature by counting cricket chirps."

"Oh, Jesus," Diego says. "Count the number of chirps in fifteen seconds, and add 37. Have you ever _tried_ that?"

Vanya shakes her head. "When's the last time I even heard a cricket? Oh my God, it's all coming back to me—it takes sixteen drops of bleach to treat one gallon of water. Altitude sickness kicks in at 8000 feet. Every part of the dandelion is edible."

"Actually that last one did come in handy for me a few times," Klaus interjects. "Ben was worried that I wasn't getting enough—sorry, never mind, _hepchsh!_ " The sneeze is muffled against _Dave's_ shoulder; Ben guesses that implies that Klaus is manifesting Dave fairly solidly at the moment. He tries to decide if Klaus sneezing on Dave is more disgusting or less disgusting than him doing it on an alive person.

"Bless you, honey," Dave says, looking bemused and not even a little appalled. If Ben hadn't already known that Dave was head-over-heels in love with Klaus, this would've been a good clue.

Klaus starts to lift his head, then shudders, presses his face back into Dave's shoulder, and sneezes again.

**Gesundheit,** Ben types. **Ready to admit that I was right and you're sick?**

Klaus lifts his head and squints at the typewriter. "Christ, Ben, you're so performative," he says, sniffling. "You don't have to type at _me_." And then he sneezes again, into his hands this time.

"Ugh, Klaus, gross," Diego says. "Use a tissue."

"If I _had_ a tissue," Klaus mutters into his hands. And sneezes again.

Vanya fetches a Kleenex box. Ben amuses himself by typing a fresh **Gesundheit** for every sneeze.

After the eighth one, Diego says to Vanya, "I'm kind of thinking I shouldn't bring him in for my shift at the gym today."

"I have all-day rehearsal with the symphony," Vanya points out.

"I guess I can call in sick," Diego says, looking worried.

"Klaus," Dave says, "would you feel okay about staying home with just me and Ben for company today?"

Klaus clears his throat and sniffles. "Diego's the one who doesn't trust me alone. He could always handcuff me again I guess. Oh, _fuck_ me—" he sneezes twice more into his crumpled tissue.

"Huh?" Diego says. "Oh, one of the ghosts said something, right?"

**Dave asked Klaus if he'd be okay here without you or Vanya,** Ben narrates, belatedly. And then he adds, although nobody asked him: **I think it's fine. He proved last night that he's committed to staying sober. And that he can ask for help when he needs it.**

Klaus tries blowing his nose—not very successfully, by the sound of it—and groans. "You know what would clear my head out really nicely? Methamphetamines."

Ben glares at him. **I take it back.**

Diego just shakes his head. " _How_ are you not dead?"

Dave whispers something in Klaus's ear. Klaus lets out a soft laugh, and says, "No, see, my family has _never_ appreciated my sense of humor."

Vanya looks at the clock on the wall. "So, I have to go... You guys can sort this out, right?"

Klaus and Dave look at each other, and apparently manage to communicate something, because Klaus nods. Then he says, "Diego, I'll be good. I promise. I won't leave the apartment." And into Diego's ongoing hesitation, Klaus holds out his hands and adds, "You can handcuff me if you want to." Dave's wince tells Ben that the handcuff thing hadn't been part of the telepathic conversation, at least on Dave's side.

"Tempting," Diego says. Ben doesn't think he's kidding.

"Klaus, can you talk to Diego for me?" Dave asks.

"As long as I don't start sneezing again," Klaus says. "Um, Diego. I have a message for you from Dave."

"Diego," Dave says, looking at him. "Klaus is ready for this. He'll be okay."

"That's just not going to sound the same coming from me," Klaus says.

"What's not?" Diego asks.

"Dave, do you want me to type it?" Ben offers.

Dave frowns. "No. I want to talk to Diego." He looks at Klaus. "Do you think you could make me visible to him? Or is that too much when you're sick?"

"I'm not sick," Klaus counters, reminding them all of the alternate reality he is apparently inhabiting. "Anyway, it's fine, you're right next to me, it's easy. I don't see how it's going to help though. He can't hear you."

"Tell him to watch my lips," Dave says. "And then you repeat it. But he'll understand it's me saying it."

"Got it," Klaus says, sounding impressed. "Diego, eyes on Dave. Read his lips."

"Huh?" Diego says. "But I can't—" He cuts himself off as Klaus's eyes flash blue. Ben assumes that's the moment that Dave becomes visible to the living.

"Klaus will be okay," Dave says, slowly and carefully.

Klaus repeats the four words, and Diego nods. "I pretty much got it anyway just from watching him," he mentions. "I'm out of practice, but when I was a kid I could lip-read pretty well."

"Oh, right!" Klaus says. "From when Mom used to work with you on your—never mind." He glances at Dave.

"It's okay," Diego says to Klaus. "I don't mind Dave knowing." And, to Dave, "When I was a kid I had a pretty bad stutter. I had to pay a lot of attention to the shapes of words."

Dave looks surprised, and then smiles. "We should practice. I'd love to talk to you."

Diego wrinkles his forehead in concentration. "We ... something. I love, something something you."

"And then my boyfriend confessed his undying love to my brother," Klaus says, and throws a hand to his forehead in a mock swoon.

Dave pokes him in the ribs. "Translate properly."

"Dave wants you to work on the lip-reading. He's dying for somebody new to talk to," Klaus says.

Ben rolls his eyes and types **Dave actually said:** followed by the verbatim quote.

"Yeah, I'd like that," Diego says. "We could work on it this afternoon, maybe." He looks at Klaus again. "So, for real? You'll be okay on your own?"

"I won't _be_ on my own," Klaus points out, threading his fingers through Dave's hand—which Diego can actually _see_ at the moment, Ben reminds himself.

"Sure," Diego says. "But Dave and Ben only have as much power as you give them, right?"

"Depends on how you look at it," Klaus says. "It's pretty hard for me to take away their power to _talk_ to me."

"I'm not saying you need a babysitter—" Diego starts.

Klaus interrupts him with a disbelieving snort, which turns into a cough.

"You _did_ , a month ago," Diego says. "I haven't forgotten that the first time Vanya left you unsupervised, you tried to run off and get high, and it took Ben possessing you to stop you. And if you hadn't been so sick, I would've said fuck it, it's your life. But you _were_ , and I didn't want you to fucking _die_ , so yeah I made sure you were never alone after that. But that was then. You didn't _want_ to get sober then, and now you say you do, and I believe you."

Klaus's expression is starting to turn fragile, listening to Diego. Like he might need to flee the room at any moment. Dave's stroking Klaus's knuckles with his thumb, and watching him carefully.

"I _believe_ you," Diego repeats. "When I thought you were high the other night I told you it wasn't the end, you could still come back from it. I wouldn't have said that if I didn't believe that you'd decided you wanted to get better."

"Okay..." Klaus says. With his voice croaking anyway from the head cold, it's hard to tell if he's close to tears again. But Ben thinks he might be. Diego is cutting right past his defenses. "Where does that put us, exactly, vis-à-vis handcuffs?"

"Klaus, I'm not gonna handcuff you," Diego says, with an impatience that Ben thinks is unwarranted, given that Diego absolutely _has_ handcuffed Klaus in the recent past, and certainly looked like he was seriously considering it a minute ago. "I'm just trying to figure out if I need to blow off work and stay with you. You've had a bad week, and when you really get lost in your head, Ben and Dave aren't solid. They can't help you."

"He has a point," Ben says. "Klaus, do you want to just ask him to stay?"

Klaus shakes his head. "Go to work, Diego. I promise I'll be fine. I'll practice the guitar and maybe have sex with Dave."

Diego manages to mostly suppress a snort, and Dave plants a tender kiss on Klaus's cheek, smirking.

**We'll be okay,** Ben types. **Really.**

Diego nods, finally. "Okay. Um, Dave, Ben—could you try to get him to eat something? And make him drink some juice. I'll be three and a half hours, tops." And then he does an awkward move in to grab Klaus for a hug. "I _love_ you, you fucking idiot," he says. "Be okay. Please."

So finally, Diego heads out.

As soon as he's gone, Klaus stands up, stretches his back, and says, "Now we can paaartay!"

"You're definitely kidding, right?" Ben says. He's _almost_ not worried.

Klaus sighs, and coughs. "Of course I'm kidding. I am so fucking sick. I'm gonna lie on the couch and probably sneeze my head off some more. Will you read to me?"


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Content warning** for this chapter: This chapter contains a discussion of underage sex and sexual assault (in reference to Klaus's past). If that's a topic you'd prefer to avoid, you can skip it (without missing anything really important to the overall plot) by stopping reading when Vanya says _"Don't make fun of me. I just spent nearly my whole life on medication that suppressed my emotions."_ At that point, just jump straight to the last two paragraphs of the chapter.

"Why don't we have a TV?" Dave asks.

Diego's been gone for three hours. Ben's finished reading _Shards of Honor_. Klaus has done an ineffective, sniffling twenty minutes of guitar practice. He's gone through nearly a whole box of tissues. He has drunk a glass and a half of orange juice.

"TV rots your brain," Ben says, automatically.

Klaus nods.

Dave stares at them. "What, really?"

"It's a known fact," Ben says.

"You have a sister," Dave says, "who's a famous actress."

"Movies," Klaus points out. "Not TV." And he sneezes.

"They show movies _on_ TV sometimes," Dave points out.

Klaus shrugs.

"Is this your father talking?" Dave asks. "The rots-your-brain thing."

"Huh," Ben says. He's never really thought about it. "I guess so. I mean, he's not wrong about _everything_."

"I don't think I'd do well with a TV in the house," Klaus says. "I have an addictive personality."

Dave looks at the two of them like they've just sprouted blue feathers. But then he shrugs and apparently decides not to pursue it.

Klaus sneezes three more times. "Mother-fucking Christ," he says, a moment later, pressing the back of his wrist against his nose and fumbling with the Kleenex box. "I'm out of tissues."

"I'll go scouting," Dave says, pressing a kiss to Klaus's forehead. "Hang on." He disappears.

"Don't look at me like that," Klaus says, glaring at Ben without lowering his hand. 

"Like what?"

"All smug. 'Cause you don't get sick. 'Cause you're dead."

"I'm not smug," Ben says. "I'm neutral. This is my neutral face."

"You could possess me. Take over the job of sneezing for an hour."

"No thanks," Ben says, and flips a page of the National Geographic magazine he's reading. He picked up a few of them at the library while he was stuck possessing Klaus. This one has an article about Antarctica with a lot of stark, beautiful photos.

Ben could _go_ to Antarctica, theoretically. He wouldn't get cold.

Dave pops back. "There's a box in Vanya's room," he says. "On her bedside table."

Klaus flutters his eyelashes. "Get it for me?"

"Klaus," Dave says patiently, "you know I can't do that."

"Is the door to her room open or closed?"

"Open," Dave says, "but that's not the problem. I've never even picked up a pencil."

"Uh huh," Klaus says. "Time to start. I'll give you the juice. Go, go. My nose is fucking tickling like crazy. I don't know how much longer I can last."

Dave looks at him like he's not sure he's serious. "It would be a lot easier for you to just stand up and go to the other room," he says. "I mean, Ben and I can _help_ you, if you need us to." He starts to look a little worried. "Are you feeling dizzy, or something?"

"Not dizzy," Klaus says. "Just tired and sneezy. S-so- _hhChmph_! Fuck, there I go again. _hhChmph_! I reeaallly need those tissues, Dave."

"Um." Dave is starting to look uncomfortable. "If you really, _really_ need somebody to bring you the tissue box, that's more Ben's thing. He's picked stuff up before."

"I'm sick," Klaus says. "And I want my boyfriend to bring me tissues."

"Klaus..." Dave says, helplessly.

"Giving you the power now," Klaus says. He stops pressing his wrist against his nose so that he can clench his fists in front of himself; they glow blue. "You'd better hurry. Not sure what'll happen if I snee—ha— oh shit—htchh!" He stifles the sneeze against his shoulder; the blue glow around his fists flickers, but doesn't go out. "Oh, never mind. Nothing happened. I thought maybe the house would—heh...heh...Htchh!—explode or something. Anyway. Hurry please, or my shirt's gonna be really gross."

"Um." Dave's eyes are wide. "Um. Okay." He vanishes.

"Go with him," Klaus says to Ben, and all the teasing has dropped out of his voice. "Talk him through it."

"Ooooh," Ben says, completely revising his understanding of the situation. Klaus isn't being arbitrary and flaky. Klaus is trying to force Dave into a breakthrough. "Yeah, got it."

He ghost-moves into Vanya's bedroom—no transitional walking, just one moment he's in the guys' bedroom next to Klaus's couch, and the next he's standing beside Vanya's bed.

Dave is staring down at the tissue box like it's a tarantula.

"Put your hands around it," Ben tells him. "Think of it like a tiny black hole that you need to relocate."

In the other room, Klaus sneezes three times in quick succession. "Hurry up, Dave!" he calls out in a croak. "I'm desperate!"

"How about you do it," Dave says. "And we tell him it was me."

Ben shakes his head. "I literally can't. He's only feeding the power to you."

Dave's hands close on the tissue box, but he doesn't move it. "A tiny black hole?"

"A gravitational anomaly," Ben hedges. "It's just a metaphor. But you have to think of it as not really a _thing_ , just a collection of forces that you're moving through space."

"That doesn't make any sense," Dave almost-but-not-quite snaps.

"It doesn't matter," Ben says. "We're ghosts. None of this makes sense."

Dave backs away from the tissue box and shakes his head. "I can't."

Ben wishes he could give Dave's shoulder a reassuring pat, but ghosts touching other ghosts just isn't a thing. "Look," he says. "If Klaus has to wipe his nose on his shirt, it's not the end of the world. But. He's really determined that you're going to do this, and he's over there pouring power into you, and you know how that drains him. So you'd better get this done."

Dave gives Ben a look of despair, but Ben sends back his absolute best You Can Do This look. The one he's employed on Klaus about a thousand times, in a thousand terrible situations.

Dave is helpless before it.

Dave straightens his back, reaches for the tissue box again, and _picks it up_.

"Yes!" Ben cheers. "Now just keep doing that, and walk back to Klaus."

Jaw clenched tight, holding the tissue box in front of him like maybe it's a live munition, Dave carefully walks back to the other bedroom. Ben stays beside him, murmuring encouraging platitudes. Honestly, this is a pretty impressive feat; Ben himself has never actually carried an object any serious distance (not that it's something he and Klaus have particularly thought to try).

Klaus is still lying on the couch, staring intensely at his blue-glowing clenched fists, which are shaking.

"Here." Dave drops the tissue box on Klaus's chest. "Cut the power."

Instantly, the blue glow goes out. Klaus fumbles at the box with trembling hands, pulls out a couple of tissues, and blows his nose. "Th-thank f- _fuck_ ," he says, crumpling the tissues and tossing them in the general direction of the overflowing wastebasket.

Ben doesn't miss the fact that the crumpled tissue-ball is a little bloody. From his quick frown, neither does Dave. But at least Klaus's nose isn't bleeding freely. He really is getting a lot better at this physical-manifestation-from-a-distance thing.

"Was that worth it?" Dave asks Klaus.

Klaus beams up at him. "S-so p-proud of y-you."

"But now you're freezing," Dave objects. "And there is no _way_ Ben or I are getting you a hot water bottle."

"C-cuddles," Klaus suggests, drawing himself up into more of a ball so that there's room for Dave beside him on the couch.

"I don't think I have body heat," Dave says, but he sits next to Klaus and puts an arm around him. "Do I?"

Klaus melts into Dave's embrace and starts pressing shivery, happy kisses against Dave's jaw. Despite Klaus's absolutely terrible physical state, he looks really smug. "D-don't c-care. Knew you c-could d-do it."

"I'd almost forgotten," Dave says, looking rueful, "about this side of you."

"The side that wants you to be your best self?"

"Sure, that too," Dave says. And then he kisses Klaus's eyebrow, and appends, "The side that decides that something's going to happen and goes for it, damn the consequences."

"Ooh, are there Vietnam stories I haven't heard yet?"

"A few," Dave says. "And don't expect me to tell them to you any time soon, 'cause they're the ones that turn my intestines to Jello when I think about them."

"Mmm, now I'm _really_ curious."

"Not now," Dave repeats, firmly. And softens it by kissing Klaus again, on the lips this time.

"Good thing you're a ghost," Klaus says, when they come up for air. "Or you probably wouldn't want to kiss me when I'm gross like this."

"I _have_ kissed you when you were gross like this," Dave assures him. "Any chance we got, we took." He cups a hand along the side of Klaus's face, thumb brushing Klaus's lips. "I still can't quite believe that this time I get to be with you somewhere safe. Where I don't have to hide how I feel about you."

Klaus responds to this with a soft, shining look, and then snuggles in closer for another kiss.

Ben clears his throat. "So, um, I think I'll go sit out in the living room for a while."

Dave and Klaus don't even look up as he leaves.

* * *

The day proceeds quietly. Diego comes back, heats up canned soup for lunch, and glares at Klaus until he eats it. Klaus sneezes a ridiculous number of times, stubbornly continues to refuse to admit to Diego that he's sick, and spends the afternoon drawing not-very-good portraits of Dave in one of Diego's sketchbooks. Dave spends the afternoon passing tissues to Klaus, and looking very pleased with himself. The box is sitting _on_ Klaus's lap, so it's a little silly, but at least Klaus isn't getting strained by projecting his power over a distance. Ben reads the National Geographic magazines. Diego lies on his cot fiddling with the police scanner.

"Why are you always listening to that thing?" Klaus asks him, eventually.

Diego shrugs. "Getting a feel for what's out there."

"Before he connected with you," Dave mentions, "he was going out nearly every night. He hasn't gone out at all since we moved in with Vanya."

"Dave's wondering about your vigilante hobby-thing," Klaus reports. "Have you given it up?"

"Nah," Diego says. "Been a little busy lately looking after my idiot brother, is all."

"Oh my god," Klaus says. "Luther's back from the moon? Why didn't anybody tell me?" He meets Diego's responding eyebrow-lift straight-faced for about a second and a half, and then dissolves into coughing giggles.

Diego shakes his head and goes back to the scanner.

"I wonder if we can help Diego find a new outlet," Ben says. "Honestly, I think this vigilante thing sounds kind of messed up. He's going to get hurt eventually. Or arrested."

"Do you want me to repeat that, Ben?" Klaus asks.

"What? No!" Ben says quickly, with a guilty glance at Diego. "I would've typed it if I meant for him to hear it." The typewriter is by Ben's knee, but Ben hasn't been using it. He's a little concerned about straining Klaus's resources.

"Ben thinks _you're_ the idiot brother," Klaus reports promptly to Diego.

**That is not what I said,** Ben retorts, all typewriter-qualms immediately forgotten. If Klaus is going to misquote him, he can damn well contribute the power for Ben to correct him.

Diego leans over to see the typewriter, and snorts. "Okay, Ben, what _did_ you say?"

Oops. Ben winces. Klaus gives him a smirk.

**Never mind,** Ben types, feeling awkward, and considers how nine years with only Klaus to talk to have degraded his social skills.

Diego gives the area around the typewriter a suspicious look. "Okay," he says.

And then Klaus's breath hitches. "Dave, Dave, help, I'm gonna sn-hchmph!"

Ben rolls his eyes, although actually he's grateful for the distraction. This time Dave doesn't even hand the tissue to Klaus—whose hands are full of the sketchbook and pencil—he just presses the tissue to Klaus's face himself, to catch the sneeze.

Dave looks amused, but also quite proud of himself. "Got it," he says.

"That looked really freaky," Diego says. "Like, you could be a stage magician. Get the ghosts to move shit around. Pretend it's you doing it."

**Diego, do NOT give him ideas.** Ben glares.

"Klaus, can you make me visible?" Dave asks. "So I can try the lip-reading thing with Diego?"

"Oh, sure." Klaus shuts the sketchbook and drops it to the floor. "One, two, three—abracadabra!"

Diego's head swivels, zeroing in on Dave. "Hi."

Dave gives a little wave, and says "Hi."

"Come closer, Diego," Klaus says. "Dave wants you to read his lips."

Diego gamely slides the cot closer to the couch, and sits with his elbows propped on his knees. "Okay, shoot."

"Hey, so, you know how I kind of stalked you for a year?"

"Mmm, Klaus, I'm gonna need you to repeat him," Diego says. "I think I caught maybe one word in four."

" _hChmph!_ " Klaus sneezes into Dave's shoulder.

"Oh my God, _why_ am I within five feet of you?" Diego asks, eyeing Klaus.

"Not sick," Klaus insists, muffled into Dave's bicep. "Sneezing randomly."

**I'll transcribe for Dave,** Ben offers. And then does.

"Oh, right, that," Diego says, reading it off the page. "Yeah, that's fine. Being a ghost must be boring as hell, away from Klaus. Not like you ever bothered me any."

"Why did you stop fighting?" Dave asks.

"Why did I stop _fighting_?" Diego repeats, a bit hesitantly, before Ben can even finish typing it. "Oh, you mean the boxing? I don't know. I guess I'm just on a break. I've been meaning to get back into it."

"Have you thought of coaching?"

Diego doesn't quite manage to parse that one until Ben types it out. "What?" is his response even then. "Oh, uh, not really. Why?"

"I think you'd be good," Dave says. "I've watched you helping Klaus out at the gym, and giving Ben tips this week when he was possessing Klaus and you sparred with him."

Diego watches Dave very intensely as he talks, but he waits for Ben to type it out before he responds.

"Huh," Diego says, once he's read what Dave said. "Thanks, man. I guess ... that's something to think about."

"Oh," Ben says, impressed. "Dave. I see what you did there."

Dave shrugs, ducking his head into a little grin.

* * *

Dave and Diego chat for a while longer. By the end of the conversation, Diego seems to be catching more words than he's missing.

Then Klaus huddles through a fit of six ragged, tired-sounding sneezes, and Diego says, "I've just lost Dave."

Klaus looks at Dave, sniffling. "No, he's still right here."

"Not to me, he isn't."

"Oops, I guess I fizzled," Klaus says. "Hang on, I'll try to fix it..."

"No, it's okay," Dave says. "I think you should rest."

"Don't worry about it, bro," Diego says at the same time. "Why don't you have a nap before supper?"

"Why would I want a nap?" Klaus asks, lifting his chin and trying his best to look perky. "I'm not sick."

"Let that one go," Ben advises him. "It stopped being funny about a hundred sneezes ago."

"Aaagh," Klaus huffs at Ben. "If I admit to it, Diego's just gonna ride me about how it's all my fault."

Diego looks bemused. "I think you just admitted to it, dude." He rises from the cot and shifts over to sit next to Klaus on the couch. He lays his hand on Klaus's forehead. "No fever," he decides after a few seconds. "Could be worse."

"Diego, I'm soooo siiiick," Klaus whines instantly, and melts into a snuggle against Diego's chest.

"Yes you are," Diego agrees. "And it's absolutely your own damn fault. Fucking running away from the hospital in bare feet in the middle of December. And it's not like you had the reserves to fight anything off to _start_ with."

"If you yell at me," Klaus says, "I will sneeze on you."

"I'm not gonna yell at you."

" _hChmph!_ " Klaus sneezes against Diego's sternum.

"Hey!" Diego says. "Gross, man. I didn't yell at you."

"I didn't do it on purpose," Klaus mumbles into Diego's shirt. "They just keep coming."

"Okay, look," Diego says. "I guess I have. Yelled at you a lot. For messing yourself up. And maybe that wasn't the best way to deal with you when you were so fucked up. I'm sorry. It sucked, watching you _hurt_ yourself, but maybe I should've taken into account that you were surviving as well as you could. If I had dead people screaming at me any time I closed my eyes and half the time with them open, maybe I wouldn't do any better."

"I shut off the ghosts," Klaus says.

Diego looks down at him. "Huh?"

"When I ran away from the hospital. Dave talked me through it. I shut them off for, I dunno, however long it took me to find J-Dot and buy the pills. I blocked out _all_ of them, Dave and Ben included, which ... isn't _ideal_ actually, but there was this whole swarm of them at the hospital. If I hadn't been able to block them, I definitely would have taken the drugs."

"Klaus," Diego says, sounding impressed. "That's _great_. Look at you, mastering your fucking power. I'm really proud of you, man."

* * *

Klaus naps, Vanya comes home, the living siblings eat supper. After dinner, Klaus curls up on the living room couch to snuggle with Dave (and a box of tissues) while Ben reads to them. Vanya and Diego wash the dishes, and then Diego disappears into the bedroom. Vanya joins Klaus in the living room and opens up her violin case.

"Oh, are you going to practice?" Klaus asks, looking up. "Do you want me to leave?"

"Only if you want to," Vanya says. "Actually I've been enjoying having you around, listening to me play. I like the company."

"You get cranky when I make noise, though," Klaus points out. "And I don't know if you've noticed, but I have one mother-fucking monster of a head cold right now."

"I get cranky when you _talk_ to Ben and Dave while I'm playing," Vanya tells him. "I think I can ignore your sneezing. Don't expect me to bless you, though." She starts checking the tuning of the strings.

"How's Helen?" Klaus asks, while she does that.

Vanya smiles. "Good," she says. "Very good. She wanted to come over tonight, but I told her we should take a rain check since you're—" she pauses, waiting for Klaus to stop sneezing—one, two, three, four in a row—"disgustingly sick," she finishes.

Klaus blows his nose, and then says, "Aw. But you could've gone to her place."

Vanya looks rueful. "Not an option. She lives with her parents. And they're kind of ... traditional. And very, very Christian."

"Oooooh, sorry," Klaus says. "I noticed she was uptight, but I thought it was just the musician thing. Are you her first Sapphic love?"

"No," Vanya says. "Actually." She draws her bow across the strings once, frowns, and then settles to adjusting one of them. "But she is mine," she adds without looking at Klaus.

"Oooh, Vanya!" Klaus says, sounding delighted at the revelation. "First woman, or first anybody?"

"First anybody." She plucks at a string, and then fiddles with it some more.

"First _serious_ relationship, or first _anything_?" Klaus asks.

Vanya hunches her shoulders a bit, and the lines around her mouth tighten. "First anything."

"Vanvan, that's so cute! I'm dying!"

Vanya looks up at Klaus, glaring. "Don't make fun of me. I just spent nearly my whole life on medication that suppressed my emotions."

Klaus holds up his hands. "I'm not making fun of you even a tiny bit. I'm really delighted for you, Vanyaya. It's super sweet."

"You're being condescending," Vanya says. "I know you're a lot more worldly than me. You don't have to rub it in."

"I'm not I'm not I'm not," Klaus insists. "Can't I be happy for you that you've just had your introduction to carnal delights at the hand—and, possibly tongue, was there tongue?—of a hot, gorgeous musician who you're obviously super smitten with? That's a _beautiful_ first time, Vanya. Way better than mine."

"What was yours like?" Vanya asks.

"Oh, I don't know," Klaus says. "I don't remember."

Vanya wrinkles her nose at him. "See, there you go again. Saying 'I've had so much sex I don't even remember my first time' definitely counts as rubbing it in, Klaus."

"Huh? No, no. I mean _yes_. I've had a _lot_ of sex. But I do remember when my first time happened, I just don't remember _it_. I got blackout drunk at a party and I woke up with a sore ass and a fresh ten dollar bill in my pocket." Klaus laughs. "Typical me, huh?"

Vanya looks appalled. So does Dave. Frantically, Ben starts trying to think of how to let them know about the giant radioactive no-go zone they've just stumbled onto the edge of.

"Unfortunately that was a couple of years before Ben died, so I have no idea who popped my cherry," Klaus says. "A _lot_ of crazy shit happened to me before Ben died that I'm never going to find out about."

"Klaus," Vanya says, putting down her violin and bow. "Oh my God. I'm so sorry."

"About what?" Klaus asks. As though he didn't just tell his sister that his first sexual experience was being raped at a party when he was fifteen.

"Klaus," Dave says, reaching for Klaus's hand. "You never told me about that."

"I didn't?" Klaus says. He remembers to throw an aside to Vanya—"Apparently this is Dave's first time hearing this story too." Then, back to Dave, with a slightly fragile shrug, "It doesn't exactly make me look good, so I'm not surprised I didn't bring it up."

"I can't believe we didn't know that happened to you," Vanya says, white-faced. "Klaus, I'm so sorry."

"Vanya, it's not a _sorry_ situation," Klaus says. "I was a wild party child, whatever." There's an edge of anger mixed with panic in his increasingly flippant tone.

"Typewriter," Ben says abruptly. "Typewriter _now_ , Klaus. I need it. Send Vanya to get it."

"What?" Klaus blinks at him. "Is this suddenly an emergency? If you have something to say, you can just say it."

"Tell Vanya to get the typewriter," Ben insists. "Now. Or you can get up and get it. I don't care. But I want that typewriter."

"Um, okay, okay," Klaus says. "Vanvan, Ben just suddenly freaked out at me about wanting to type. Can you set us up?"

It's just over on the dining table; Vanya fetches it and puts it on the coffee table.

"No, on the couch," Ben says. "In front of me. And we're going to sit back-to-back, Klaus, and Dave's going to hug you, and Vanya and Dave are going to look at what I'm writing, and _you aren't_. Please, trust me on this one."

Talking about Klaus without talking _to_ Klaus is extremely complicated, given that Ben depends on Klaus to give him the power to communicate in any way with anyone at all. But. Ben needs to intervene here before Vanya puts her foot in it any more than she already has.

Anyway, Ben must be managing his 'everybody has to do what I say now' tone pretty well, because Klaus and Dave follow Ben's instructions. Klaus ends up sort of on Dave's lap, with his legs wrapped around Dave's waist.

"Dave, can you see the typewriter?" Ben asks, craning his neck to look over his shoulder at them.

"Yeah, if I stretch a little," Dave says.

"And you've got to hug Klaus, I'm completely serious about that."

"On it," Dave says. He sounds half bemused and half worried.

"Dave, I am definitely going to sneeze on you, I apologize in advance," Klaus says.

"That's okay, honey," Dave says. "I really don't care. I'm a ghost."

"Ben, what kind of horrible things are you planning to tell them about me?" Klaus asks. He sounds like he's trying not to be scared.

Ben tries to think about how he can reassure Klaus and talk him out of peeking, without either lying to him or defeating the whole purpose of hiding the typewriter from him. "There's some, um, feelings-stuff that I want to talk about, that I think you'd find upsetting. Just make out with Dave, okay?"

"Okay," Klaus agrees, readily enough. Kissing Dave instead of talking about his feelings is a pretty easy sell, as Ben had hoped.

Also, Klaus isn't stupid. He probably has _some_ idea what Ben wants to talk about. He knows what they were talking about when Ben asked for the typewriter.

**Vanya,** Ben types. And then he looks over his shoulder again to make sure that Klaus really isn't looking.

Klaus is resting his head against Dave's shoulder, and Dave is petting the back of Klaus's neck, rubbing slow circles with his thumb.

Okay.

**Klaus doesn't understand that he just told you he was sexually assaulted.**

Ben hears a sharp, indrawn breath from Dave. He looks back again, and sees Dave kissing the top of Klaus's head, wary eyes on the typewriter paper.

Vanya, meanwhile, is pressing her lips tightly together.

**Keep in mind,** Ben types, **that that was not the only time. He has had a LOT of experiences ranging from dubious consent to very clear rape. He copes with it by not thinking about it that way. He has no concept that sex is something that shouldn't happen without his consent. He thinks these things happen because of "what he's like."**

**I know this is fucked up. I don't know what to do about it. He needs, probably, like a decade of therapy if he would ever agree to it. Meanwhile, you are not ready to deal with the consequences of forcing him to confront it. Neither am I. So please, we need to drop this topic of conversation.**

"Ben," Vanya says, "may I type something?"

**Go ahead,** he says, and moves his fingers away from the keys.

She does a reasonably good job of not bumping into him, given that she can't see him. Typing slowly at an awkward angle, she says, **How do I get away from talking about it? I feel like it's a 3-ton elephant in the room now.**

**You'd be amazed,** Ben assures her. **He's really good at deflecting. He'll do it for you. Just don't stop him.**

**But this can't be healthy for him,** Vanya writes. **Just avoiding it?**

**Probably not,** Ben agrees. **But he's already dealing with so much right now. Getting sober. Learning about his power. Facing the ghosts. Coping with his PTSD without getting high. His sexual history is a back-burner thing. As long as he thinks it doesn't bother him, it mostly doesn't, relatively speaking.**

**Okay,** Vanya says. **You know him better than anybody. I'll follow your lead.**

So. Vanya removes the paper from the typewriter. Fetching the lighter from the mantelpiece, she burns the page in the fireplace.

"All done," Dave says to Klaus, kissing the top of his head, and then his eyebrows, his nose, and his lips, as Klaus lifts his face away from Dave's shoulder.

"Did you tell them the story about the time I got off a possession charge by getting the arresting officer off in the back of the squad car?" Klaus asks, grinning at Ben.

"Hm, I'd forgotten all about that one," Ben says mildly.

"Klaus, I need to practice my piece now," Vanya says. "Okay?"

"Sure, sure." Klaus turns around so that he can lean back into Dave's embrace, facing Ben. "Wanna keep reading to us, Ben? You won't disturb Vanya."

"Okay," Ben says. The physical copy of the book is on the coffee table; he scoops his fingers through it, and picks up the ghost version. It's the second book in that series that Helen recommended. They'd all really enjoyed the first one.

Vanya starts playing. Dave nibbles kisses at Klaus's temple, and keeps his fingers intertwined across Klaus's chest. He's looking even more protective than usual, which isn't surprising if he just learned most of that stuff about Klaus for the first time. Ben isn't too worried about Dave handling it okay; he knows from, unfortunately, extensive first-hand observation that Klaus isn't actually capable of having sex without letting slip at least _hints_ of how messed up he is about it. And Dave and Klaus go a long way back, at least from Dave's point of view. So Dave isn't likely to trigger Klaus's trauma by suddenly treating Klaus like he's broken during sex. Ben hopes.

The piece Vanya's playing is haunting. After a while Ben stops reading so that he can listen to it.

And then he notices tears welling up in Vanya's eyes as she plays. So he starts reading again, to make it less likely that Klaus will look over at Vanya.

So that's how they are—Dave and Klaus gently snuggling, Vanya rehearsing her haunting symphony piece and apparently having emotions, Ben reading a nice science fiction adventure story out loud and trying to _stop_ anybody from having too many emotions—when Diego runs into the room.

"Eudora's in trouble," he says. "Vanya, I need your help. Now."


	32. Chapter 32

Vanya stops playing immediately. Klaus sits up.

"What's going on?" Vanya asks.

"It was on the radio," Diego says. "The police scanner. Eudora's in the shit, she's calling for backup, I _don't think backup's coming_. We've got to go. Please?" He's already putting on his boots. He's got knives strapped all over his body. Ben hasn't seen him dressed like this since the night he went after Eddie.

"Um, okay," Vanya says.

"Driing, driing, driing," Klaus says, standing up. At Diego and Vanya's befuddled looks, he explains: "The mission alarm. At the Academy, you remember? C'mon, there's no way you've forgotten."

"Oh, buddy, you don't need to come," Diego says. "You've already proven you're okay to stay here on your own."

"What?" Klaus says. He's already heading over to the entrance to put on his boots. Vanya blinks, and then scrambles after him. "You haven't got Luther or Allison _or_ Ben _or_ Five. Vanya's never even done this before. C'mon, Diego, I'm your backup."

Diego looks pained, but apparently decides against arguing.

A minute later, they're all in Diego's car; Vanya in the shotgun position carefully snapping her seat belt shut even as Diego screeches onto the road, Klaus in the backseat with Dave and Ben.

"Put your seat belt on, Klaus," Diego mutters with a glance in the rear view mirror.

"Whatever, Mom," Klaus says. And then yelps as Diego corners so hard the car goes up on two wheels. "Okay, okay!

"What's going _on_ , Diego?" Vanya asks. Her eyes are very wide. The car starts fishtailing as Diego pulls out of the turn; it's been snowing for a few hours, and the road is greasy.

"Eudora's been working on a case," Diego says, fingers clenched on the wheel. "Klaus, you remember—Matt Jiang, that missing witness she wanted you to conjure? Turns out he wasn't even dead. He was hiding out at his sister's."

Klaus leaves a smeary finger trail in the steam of the back side window. "Well, that explains why I couldn't reach him."

"He was ready to give evidence about a cartel bringing drugs into the city," Diego says. "But. Seems like there's at least one dirty cop involved. Not just a uniform, either—a detective or higher. Eudora's been following up, but she doesn't know who to trust or when she might put her foot in it." He hits the gas and burns through a stale orange. "I think she just did."

* * *

In an absurdly short amount of time, they're in the industrial east end, pulling up beside a row of warehouses.

"Oh, I used to go to raves there," Klaus says, pointing at one of the buildings.

"I think that's the one," Diego says. He starts to open the door. "Vanya, you're with me. Klaus, wait in the car."

"Wait!" Dave says. "Ben and I go first." He disappears.

"Oh! Diego! Stop!" Klaus yelps. "Dave's going to scout."

"Sure, great, he can check in if he finds anything," Diego says, pushing his door the rest of the way open.

Vanya manages to grab Diego's wrist before he actually steps out of the car. "No, Klaus is right," she says. "If Eudora's in there, Dave can tell us exactly where she is, and who else is around, and maybe even a safe way to get to her. Look how big that building is. If you just go in on your own, and if she's already in trouble somewhere in there and there are other people around, they'll see you coming and they could, um. You know. Do something to her."

Diego sinks back into his seat, squeezing his fists shut. "Okay," he concedes, sounding like it pains him to say it. "Klaus, you tell those fucking ghosts to _hurry_."

Ben nods at Klaus. "On it," he says, and ghost-moves out of the car.

He's never been comfortable just picking a direction and teleporting without knowing what he's getting into. Maybe it makes no sense—unlike Five, for instance, Ben's at absolutely no risk of suffocating himself inside a wall—but since he's always kept close to Klaus anyway, he's never practiced much of this ghostly way of getting around.

So he ghost-moves to the wall of the warehouse in one more leap, and then walks through the wall with regular steps.

Inside, there are quite a few rough-looking men standing around with automatic weapons. So it seems very likely that this is the right place.

There are also a good number of wailing ghosts. Several of the gunmen have entourages. Is this what missions used to look like, for Klaus?

Ben catches a glimpse of Dave, and Dave sees him too and joins him in one ghost-step. "She's not on the ground floor," he says immediately. "There's offices all around the mezzanine upstairs. You take the west, I'll take the east. Report back to Klaus if you find her, don't wait for me." And he's gone.

Ben spends an awkward moment trying to remember which way west is—why would Dave assume Ben would _know_ that?—and then he ghost-hops up to the second floor.

It doesn't take long to clear every room on Ben's assigned side. There's a storeroom, a couple of abandoned-looking offices, and a room that seems to have been converted into a makeshift dorm; there are three empty cots, and one with a sleeping guy.

Ben flicks back to the car. He does it in one move, feeling pretty proud of himself.

"...held prisoner in the second room from the north end of the east side," Dave is saying to Klaus in the back seat.

Klaus nods, and quickly repeats it.

"Got it," Diego says, and reaches for his door handle. "Vanya, with me."

"Wait!" Dave says. "I spotted eight gunmen on the ground floor. And the whole thing's wide open; there's spotty cover behind pallets, but there aren't any walls."

Klaus repeats this, tripping over the words to get them out before Diego can leave.

"I can stop bullets," Diego says impatiently.

"Only from one direction at a time!" Klaus reminds him. "Hey hey, what about the fire escape?"

"What fire escape?" Diego asks.

"It goes along one side of the second floor. You can get out of the office windows onto it. I used to smoke and fuck out there."

"That is ... helpful," Diego says, sounding surprised. "Thanks Klaus. Van, let's _go_. Klaus, wait here."

"Yeah yeah, I'm the lookout," Klaus sighs, and sniffles.

The car seems silent and empty when Vanya and Diego shut their doors.

"Ben, stay on Vanya and Diego," Dave says. "I'll wait out here with Klaus. If there's any action out here, I'll zip in and let you know. You do the same."

"Okay," Ben says, carried along by Dave's confidence and military crispness. He ghost-moves out of the car, and catches up to Vanya and Diego under the fire escape.

At which point it occurs to him to wonder: _why_ is he watching Vanya and Diego? It's not like he can interact with them in any way.

Oh well. At least he'll get to see what happens.

Diego is looking up and frowning. The fire escape is one of those ones meant to discourage intruders; the ladder to the ground is suspended up at the second story. "Van," he says, "if I boost you up, do you think you could pull yourself over the railing and send down the ladder for me?"

Vanya looks intimidated. "Maybe?"

Diego doesn't wait for a second opinion. He grabs her by the waist and lifts her up over his head so she's sitting on his shoulders. She gives a sharp little squeal.

"Shhh," he says in an undertone. "Now step up on my shoulders and see if you can reach the railing."

"Oh my God, oh my God," she murmurs, attempting to follow his instructions. "Diego, am I hurting you?"

"No," he grunts as she balances her weight on her hands, clinging to the top of his head. As her boots find their place on his shoulders, he grabs her ankles to stabilize her. "Now can you reach the railing?"

"Shit shit shit..." she gasps, standing up with wobbly knees and flailing out her arms. " _Why_ didn't I train with the rest of you? Aaaaaagh— _got_ it."

"Now pull yourself up."

"What?! Diego, I can't do a chin-up!"

"I'm gonna boost you on the count of three. One." He moves his hands from her ankles to her boots. "Two." He braces the heels of his hands. "Three!" he grunts, and straightens his arms. Vanya is propelled upwards, biting back a shriek. She manages to hook her elbow around one of the vertical iron bars of the fire escape's railing.

At that point, with her center of gravity sufficiently high, she's able to swing her legs up and get all the way onto the fire escape's platform. Ben has already ghost-moved up ahead of her, and he gives her an encouraging but unheard commentary as she scrambles up and over the railing.

After that, it's easy for her to lower the ladder, and for Diego to climb up.

As soon as Diego's weight joins Vanya's on the fire escape, the metal starts creaking alarmingly.

"Let's move," Diego says. "Should be the second window from the end."

As they proceed, Ben notices that the points where the fire escape is attached to the brick wall of the building are starting to ... unattach.

" _Shit_ ," Ben says. "Move, move, move you guys!"

Which is pointless, because they can't hear him.

Vanya's noticed too, though. "The fire escape's about to collapse!" she hisses to Diego in a strangled squawk.

" _Fuck_ ," Diego swears, and smashes the window he's next to with his elbow. He reaches inside through the jagged hole and unlocks the window, and then pulls the sash up. "In," he says, grabbing Vanya and pretty much throwing her inside. Then he moves to follow her, but at the same time, the fire escape gives way under his feet.

Ben falls.

Maybe, theoretically, he doesn't _need_ to fall. It's not like he feels gravity, per se. But he's never seen a ghost hovering in thin air, and he's never managed it either.

So he falls ten feet in a tangle of iron. He lands unhurt, but a little stunned from the startling experience.

When he looks up, Diego is dangling from the window.

"Come on, come on," Ben mutters to himself, willing Diego to pull himself in.

Which he does, without much trouble. Unlike Vanya, Diego _definitely_ does chin-ups. And maybe Vanya was helping a bit by pulling from the inside.

Ben doesn't think he can ghost-move directly into the upstairs rooms. He hasn't seen the rooms on the east side of the building at all, and he's only had one quick glance through the ones on the west side.

It's easy to move back to the familiar space of the car, though, especially with Klaus's presence as a beacon guiding him to it.

"What the hell was _that_?!" Klaus asks as soon as Ben gets there. He must have heard the crash.

"The fire escape collapsed," Ben says.

"The fire escape you used to have _sex_ on?" Dave asks, looking appalled.

Klaus shrugs. "That was a few years ago. Rust is a bitch."

"Vanya and Diego are okay," Ben says. "They made it inside."

"I assumed," Klaus says. "Or you would have led with that."

"I'll see how they're doing," Ben says, and ghost-hops away.

The window Vanya and Diego had ended up entering through was the one in the room _adjacent_ to the one Dave had identified as Eudora's location. Ben gets back up to the mezzanine just in time to see Vanya, outside the door of that room, blasting a six-foot-tall gunman nearly the full length of the building with an invisible wave of force.

The gunman remains in a crumpled heap at the place where he comes to rest. No ghost appears, though, so Ben infers he didn't die on impact.

Diego, knives at the ready, kicks in the door of the room where Eudora's being held.

She's sitting on the floor, handcuffed to a radiator. There's one startled-looking guard in the room with her.

The guard pulls a gun, and a moment later has a knife sprouting from his hand. He yells.

And then Vanya flings out her hand, and a wave of sound-force hits the guard. His head snaps sideways, and he tumbles.

"Vanya!" Diego shouts. "Klaus doesn't want us to kill anybody!"

"Oh." Her eyes go wide. "Oops. Um. I don't think he's dead?"

Eudora, meanwhile, is staring up at them, wide-eyed. " _Diego_?! What are you doing here?"

"Heard your call on the scanner," he says, going to her. He kneels down. "Are you hurt?"

She shakes her head. "They were planning to kill me, but not until they'd found out if I'd talked to anybody else. Diego, what just happened to that man?"

"Oh, uh, that's Vanya's thing," Diego says. He's working at the handcuffs with a pick. "One of her things."

"Hi," Vanya says, with an awkward little wave.

And then a man bursts into the room and starts shooting at them with a machine gun.

A moment later, he's flying backwards through the door. A moment _later_ , the little swarm of bullets Diego stopped in midair fall ticking to the linoleum floor.

Eudora looks from Vanya to Diego. At their outstretched hands, and, presumably, the blue glow in their eyes.

"Oh," she says. "Okay. Okay."

Diego turns back to her and finishes freeing her. "Let's get you out of here," he says. He goes to retrieve his knife.

"Can you—" Eudora stops, swallows. "Can you two protect me? For a little while longer? In the next room, there are records. If I can find the right ones, I can take this whole organization down."

"Yeah, that should be easy," Vanya says.

The three of them do a quick move out the door and over into the next room. Vanya just needs to toss one more gunman away like a rag doll as they make the transition.

"Great," Eudora says, and starts going through filing cabinet drawers.

Ben phases out through the wall, to check on the opposition.

Not surprisingly, the bad guys are freaking _the fuck_ out.

_'threw Willis twenty feet'_

_'glowing eyes'_

_'freed that cop'_

_'the FUCK I'm going in there with them'_

_'this place is burnt'_

_'move the product out'_

_'set the charges'_

Wait, what was that last thing?

A tall, blond man with one milky-white eye seems to be directing the action. At his barked order, another guy jogs off, opens a large metal case, and—oh shit, starts planting explosives around the perimeter of the ground floor.

Ben zips back up to the office. Eudora is paging through files. Vanya and Diego are guarding the door.

"Guys, you might wanna hurry up..." Ben hugs himself, anxiously.

They can't see him.

Okay.

He ghost-moves back out to the car.

Klaus is in the middle of a sneezing fit. Dave is keeping a watchful eye toward the warehouse.

"Klaus!" Ben says. "You need to make me visible!"

"What? _hiTchh!"_

"The cartel guys are planning to make a run for it and blow the building. Diego and Vanya and Eudora are in an upstairs office going through evidence. They know nobody can come at them directly, and they think they've got all the time in the world. Make me visible so I can warn them." After the afternoon's practice with Dave, Ben's pretty sure Diego will be able to lip-read 'get out, there's a bomb.' And even if he can't, Ben can employ some frantic arm-waving and hopefully get the message across.

Klaus is still sneezing, but he nods. He holds out his fists, sneezes into his elbow, and his fists glow blue. "Go," he says into his elbow.

Ben tries to ghost-move back into the warehouse, but it doesn't work. He's still sitting in the car.

Well, that's awkward. Okay. So he moves in the regular way. He can still pass through the car door as long as he doesn't think of it as solid. Out on the sidewalk, he runs to the warehouse.

"Jesus _fuck_!" swears the heavyset thug who's guarding the open door of the warehouse. He swings his M16 around and fires at Ben. The bullets pass through Ben without resistance.

"Nice try, but I'm already dead," Ben laughs as he runs past the guy.

Another guy runs out, drawn by the gunfire. "What's going on?"

"Fucking blue _ghost_ just came at me," the first guy says, but Ben doesn't hear the rest, because he's already deep in the warehouse.

The stairs to the second floor are halfway along the building's length. Ben sprints for them, past several cartel members busily shifting boxes around.

And then he realizes that nobody's reacting to him anymore.

He goes right up to a heavily tattooed guy who's piling bricks of—yikes, is that _heroin_?—onto a hand-cart. Ben waves his hand in front of the guy's face. The guy doesn't even blink.

"Damn it," Ben groans. "Out of range."

At least he can ghost-move back to the car.

Klaus is blowing his nose. "Did you warn them?" he asks.

Ben shakes his head. "I turned invisible as soon as I was inside the warehouse. It's too far, or you have to be in the same room, or something."

"Ah, shit," Klaus says.

"Any ideas?" Ben asks, jiggling his knee anxiously. _Maybe_ Eudora will find what she's looking for and they'll get out in time...

"Whelp, guess I'm going in," Klaus says, tossing away his wad of tissues.

"What?!" Ben stares at him. "Klaus, there's like seven guys buzzing around the ground floor. The stairs are exposed in the middle of the room. You'll never make it."

"You two can help," Klaus says. He's already opening the car door. "Scout a clear path. Cause some distractions."

"Oh my god," Ben moans.

Dave's already zipping on ahead. And then he's back. "I don't see how you're going to get through the front door," he says. "There's one guard stationed outside, and everybody else is coming and going that way." Since Ben last went that way, he sees, somebody has backed a truck up to the front door, which is now the focus of the evacuation activity.

"Side door," Klaus says. He points.

Dave disappears again, and comes back. "You're clear," he says. "Move."

Klaus sprints through the ankle-deep snow, and is soon safely around the corner of the building. He pulls up next to an unwelcoming, graffiti-covered emergency exit.

Which is locked.

Klaus leans against it, coughing.

"It's fine Klaus, they'll be okay, they're smart, they'll get out of there on time," Ben says. He's frantic with worry for Vanya and Diego, but Klaus getting shot and killed isn't going to help anyone. 

"Benny-boy," Klaus says, shaking his head. "Smart? Knows when to quit? Does that sound like _anyone_ who's related to us?" He turns to Dave. "Go inside. The other side of this door should have a push bar. I _think_ if you're right in there and I'm right out here, I can give you the oomph to push it." He splays a hand against the dented metal of the door. "Go."

Dave nods, and disappears.

Ben wants to tell Klaus not to do this. Klaus is so _vulnerable_. Ben's been working so hard to keep him alive. Klaus has survived nine years of drug addiction and homelessness, and he's finally, _finally_ kind of okay, and now he's going to run through a room filled with men with machine guns? It's not fair. The universe is not fair.

The universe is not fair, and Diego and Vanya are in trouble.

"Take off your coat," Ben tells Klaus. "The clothes you've got on underneath are less visible."

"Oh, good call." Klaus shrugs out of his bright pink and purple wool coat, and lets it fall into the snow. Underneath he's wearing a black long-sleeved shirt—okay, it has lines of sequins around the shoulders and cuffs, but it's _black_ —and dark purple tights.

The door cracks open.

Klaus nods. "Go time."

* * *

Inside, there are still several cartel members moving around, shouting instructions at each other and moving items towards the front door. This is good news, technically speaking, since presumably they're not going to blow up the building while they're still inside it. But it does mean that Klaus is immediately in danger.

"Behind the pallet," Dave points. "Go."

Hunched over nearly double, Klaus scurries to the dubious cover of a pallet of what looks like shrink-wrapped office furniture.

"There's one of the charges," Ben says, pointing at the wall.

"Do you think we could disarm them?" Dave it, looking at it.

Ben moves closer and takes a look. He shakes his head. "I don't know how. Do you?"

"No," Dave admits. "I learned a bit about explosives in Basic, but nothing like that."

"Anyway, I saw the guy placing a bunch of them, all around the perimeter," Ben says. "Not much chance we could get to them all in time."

"Twenty yards from here to the stairs," Dave says, looking across the room. "Klaus would have to move through the open, though. Or if he keeps to the perimeter—say eighty yards. Spotty cover."

"If he makes us visible, we could make a distraction," Ben suggests. "Klaus? What do you think?"

Klaus nods.

Dave looks around. "It'll be easier to draw them to the front. Klaus, if you can get behind that stack over there," he points, "and Ben and I cause a ruckus near the door, they should all look away from you and the stairs."

Klaus nods again.

"Don't go yet," Dave says. "There's a guy passing." The guy is being trailed by a wailing ghost who obviously hates him, but that's the least of their problems now. "Wait, wait, ... okay _go_."

Keeping his head down, Klaus skitters through the open space. He makes it to the next piece of cover and huddles down, making himself small.

"Okay, good," Dave says, looking out. "If we wait until those two guys with the dolly go out the door, I think we'll only have three men to deal with."

Ben hears a muffled sneeze.

Oh _no_.

"Klaus, you can't sneeze _now_!" he hisses.

"Honey, you've got to hold it in," Dave says, looking about as alarmed as Ben feels.

Klaus glares up at both of them. He's pinching his nose. He rolls his eyes, silently letting them know what he thinks of their helpful advice.

"Are you okay?" Ben asks. "Is it over?"

Klaus shakes his head. And then apparently sneezes again, even with his nose pinched shut. His hands fly to his ears. "Ow ow ow," he whisper-hisses. " _Fuck_."

Dave looks over his shoulder. "Better make us visible. We'll do the distraction now."

"Wait, not while we're still over _here_ ," Ben says. "We have to get away from Klaus first."

" _heChumph!_ " Klaus sneezes loudly into his knees, with his hands still over his ears. His eyes pop wide open and he claps his hands to his mouth immediately afterward. " _Shit_ ," he whispers.

"What was that?" says the nearest cartel guy.

"Oh, fuck," Ben groans.

The guy stalks towards Klaus's hiding spot, pulling a handgun at the same time. He's got a clean-shaved head, and a tattoo of a snake coiling around his scalp.

Klaus is scrambling away, but his back hits the wall.

"Jesus fucking Christ," the snake tattoo guy sighs. He points his gun at Klaus, and yells over his shoulder, "Another one of those fucking junkie club kids snuck back in!"

Ben enjoys a moment of hope, based on this mistaken identity (technically, not even a mistake), that Klaus will just get booted out of the warehouse. But then the blond man yells back from closer to the entrance, "So _shoot_ 'em. Let'em burn up with the building."

"Klaus make me solid!" Dave yells.

Klaus's eyes widen. And flash blue.

Dave runs at the snake-tattooed gunman. Klaus must have made him visible as well as solid, because the gunman startles and swings his gun around to point at Dave. He gets a shot off but it doesn't matter; Dave downs him with a solid punch to the jaw.

"Klaus, go for the stairs!" Dave yells.

Klaus sprints across the floor. But at the same time, the blond man yells toward the entrance, calling frantically for backup. Before Klaus makes it to the stairs, two, three, _four_ more guys run back in, and the two with the dolly who'd nearly made it to the entrance turn around, and fuck, they _all_ have machine guns.

"Hit the ground!" Dave yells to Klaus. "Crawl behind the stairs!" And he takes off running.

Dave's not going to be able to take out seven guys by himself before one of them manages to shoot Klaus. This is bad. Bullets are already flying, and Klaus is crawling on his elbows.

"Klaus!" Ben says. "Make me solid too!"

He doesn't get any visible acknowledgment from Klaus, but he feels the subtle change in his substance, so he's pretty sure it worked.

He starts running toward the gunmen, but then he stops.

Dave has reached the blond man, and he's fighting with him. The blond man is fighting _back_. Dave is invulnerable but no stronger than a regular man.

The blond gangster is managing to evade some of his punches, and takes one to the gut without falling down as Ben watches. Dave can't get hurt, so he'll win eventually—except, he's about thirty yards from Klaus, and that's a long distance for Klaus to be projecting his power over. Dave won't get tired, but Klaus will.

And Dave is only keeping one guy occupied; the other _six_ are running forward, the two in front sweeping their way clear with sharp bursts of bullets. They seem to have figured out that Klaus has something to do with the freaky blue ghosts attacking them, and they want him _gone_.

Time seems to slow down.

Six men with guns would've been no problem for Ben in the old days.

He suddenly thinks about Dave changing his outfit. Changing his face.

Ben hasn't tried to change his own physical state since the day of his funeral, when he pulled himself together so that he wouldn't show up in front of Klaus as a bloody mess.

But it is so, _so_ easy to remember what the monster felt like, bursting out of his torso.

The first tentacle smacks into the foremost gangster, stopping him in his tracks. The guy's gun clatters to the warehouse floor.

Ben remembers how this goes. The tentacles punching their way through flesh and bone; the severed spines, the popped-off heads.

More so than _any_ other sibling, Ben's power was for killing.

And Ben hated it, hated coming away from missions soaked head-to-toe in other people's blood.

He'll do it, though. To protect Klaus, he'll do it.

The first gangster shrieks as the tentacle wraps around his torso. The other gangsters are falling back, yelling in horror, but the monster's slithering, flailing tentacles are catching up to them quickly.

The second-closest guy to the front is standing his ground, unloading his whole clip in a desperate attempt to take Ben down. Ben doesn't mind; as long as the guy is aiming at him, he's not aiming at Klaus. Still, as soon as he can he wraps the guy with a tentacle.

And he realizes: _he_ just wrapped the guy with a tentacle. Ben did it, not the monster.

Ben is dead. He's been dead for nine years. He's not actually summoning an eldrich horror from another dimension through his belly. He's only _pretending_ to.

The tentacles are 100% _him_ , and he can do what he wants with them.

Gently, swiftly, he slings his tentacles around every gangster's waist, circling them two or three times for good measure. And then he lifts them all up, and shoves them out the front door.

Wide-eyed, Dave is running back to him. "You couldn't have _led_ with that?!"

Ben watches the door for a wary moment, but honestly he doesn't think the cartel guys are going to come back after _that_.

Banishing the tentacles, he turns back to Klaus, heart in his mouth. There were a _lot_ of bullets flying a moment ago.

Klaus is just pushing himself up off the floor. Ben doesn't see any blood. The area is a mess, though. The floor around Klaus is littered with broken chunks and shards of whatever was on the closest pallet, along with a lot of white dust from some stray brick that got hit ... oh SHIT.

"Klaus, don't breathe!" Ben yells. "Get out of there!"

Klaus blinks at Ben, looking confused. "Ben, did you just have tentacles?"

"Yes! Klaus, get away from there. Don't touch your face. Did you breathe any of it in?"

"What's going on?" Dave asks. And then disappears.

"Yeah, I think I did, sorry," Klaus says. At least he's moved out of the area covered in white dust. "I'm feeling, oh wow, _so_ much better, Benny. Really floaty."

There's white powder on Klaus's face, on his hands, on his clothes. "Klaus," Ben says, "take off your shirt. Carefully, okay? And turn it inside out, and use the clean side to wipe off your face and hands."

"Mmmmkay," Klaus says, and starts following Ben's instructions. "But why?"

"If it's fentanyl, you can absorb it through your skin," Ben tells him. "Which would be bad," he adds, in case that doesn't go without saying.

"Think it might've been," Klaus says, his voice muffled by the shirt which he's pulling off over his head—carefully, as Ben had requested. "I can't have breathed in _that_ much. And I'm feeling _really_ high."

Ben looks at his brother. Looks at the explosives on the walls. Looks at the staircase, and the emergency exit.

"Wait here for me," he says to Klaus, and runs up the stairs.

Diego and Vanya and Eudora can't _still_ be chilling in the office like they have all the time in the world, can they? They must have heard all the gunshots.

"...seems quiet now," Vanya is saying as Ben passes through the closed door. "I wonder what all that was about."

"Eudora, have you found what you need yet?" Diego asks. At least he's fidgeting anxiously.

Eudora is still paging through files. "Not yet."

"I think maybe they've forgotten about us," Vanya says, sounding bemused. "If anybody comes back up here, though, we'll handle it."

Okay. Back to Klaus.

Klaus has stripped down to nothing but his underwear—boxer-briefs pilfered from Diego, which look like they're barely clinging to his skinny hips. The rest of Klaus's clothes, and his boots, are in a little heap on the floor. He's on his feet, but looking wobbly. At least he seems to have done a good job of wiping all of the hopefully-not-fentanyl off his skin.

"They think they've got all night," Ben reports, his voice only _slightly_ rising in hysteria. "Klaus, you've got to get upstairs and warn them about the bombs. _Now_."

"Yup, okay," Klaus says, and heads for the stairs.

Halfway up, he stops and sits down.

"Klaus!" Ben yells. "Get up!"

"Benny?" Klaus blinks at him. His pupils have shrunk to pinpricks. "What were we doing?"

"The building we're in is about to explode and you have to warn Vanya and Diego before you all die!"

"Huh," Klaus says softly. "Sounds fake."

Ben tries yanking Klaus up by the arm, but Ben's hands pass right through him. "Klaus, let me touch you," he tries. "Can you do that?"

"Sure, that's easy," Klaus murmurs. "Let's cuddle!"

Ben tries again, with no more success.

Klaus watches Ben's hands passing through him. "Oh, it didn't work."

Ben lets out a moan.

He can't believe he's back to this again. Unable to take any action in the world except for trying to talk a very drugged-out Klaus into doing something.

But the stakes have never been this high before.

Could he _possess_ Klaus? Shit, no—then he'd be just as high as Klaus was, but without the benefit of a sober brother to talk him up the stairs.

"Klaus, you love me, right? You would do anything for me?"

"Sure, sure Benny. Want to go to the library?"

"Yes!" Ben says. "Yes, the library! First just get up, okay?"

"Mmm, I think I'm about to pass out, but okay." Klaus heaves himself upright, hanging on to the railing.

"Okay, up the stairs! Up one step! There you go! Up another one! You're doing great!" If Ben could move Klaus up the stairs with the sheer force of his desperation, he'd be at the top already.

Klaus reaches the top.

"Okay, just a little further. Come to this door. Vanya and Diego need you, and they're behind this door."

Klaus stumbles, and sniffles, and blinks owlishly at the fluorescent light strip, but he makes it to the door.

So close, so close.

"Knock on it," Ben says. He doesn't know whether it's locked, but knocking seems easier than working a doorknob, and possibly less likely to get Klaus knifed if Diego's feeling jumpy.

"Mmm," Klaus says, leaning his forehead against the door. "Benny, I can't feel my feet. That's okay, right?"

The door opens inward, and Klaus stumbles into Vanya.

"Klaus?!" she says. "What happened to your clothes?!"

"Vanvan!" Klaus exclaims, melting into her. "What're you doin' here?"

"Huh?" Vanya stumbles, finding herself unexpectedly supporting most of Klaus's weight.

Diego's forehead crinkles. "Klaus? Shit, man, are you hurt?"

"No no no, I feel soft and beautiful," Klaus murmurs, starting to slide down Vanya.

Diego gets there in two steps and grabs him by the arm, stabilizing him. And then he gives a sharp frown, and turns Klaus's head to look him directly in the eye. "Klaus, are you _high_? What the _fuck_ , man? We left you alone for _ten minutes_!"

"Klaus, Klaus!" Ben is yelling, meanwhile. Trying to catch his attention. "Tell them there's a bomb! Tell them to get out!"

"I'm sooo high, it's okay, I feel fine, this is nice," Klaus murmurs.

"The _bombs_!" Ben yells again, his voice cracking. "Klaus, repeat what I say! The building is going to explode!"

"Ben says, something," Klaus murmurs, lolling his head against Diego's shoulder. "Diego, I like how you smell."

"Oh, I think this is the file I need," Eudora says. Calmly, like maybe she's going to spend another ten minutes reading it before she leaves, just to be sure.

"Klaus, did you come in through all that shooting?" Vanya asks, sounding a little confused.

"Klaus!" Ben tries not to wail. "TELL THEM THE BUILDING IS GOING TO EXPLODE!"

"Oh, right," Klaus says, half muffled into Diego's neck. "The building is going to explode."

Eudora's head snaps up. "What did he just say?"

"Klaus, what?" Diego holds him out at arm's length.

"mmm, bunch'a bombs downstairs. Imma sleep now." Klaus's eyes flutter closed, and his head slumps down.

Vanya peeks out the door. "Guys, there's nobody left down there. It's totally deserted."

"Oh, I think we'd better leave. Now." Eudora snaps the cover shut on the file she'd been examining. "Follow me."

"Klaus? Klaus?" Diego's saying. "Oh, _fuck_." Diego hefts Klaus's limp form up and slings him over his shoulders in a fireman's carry. "I've got Klaus."

Eudora leads the way down the stairs at a brisk walk. Ben would've preferred to see them all sprinting flat-out, but he'll take what he can get. Diego follows, carrying Klaus, and Vanya brings up the rear. She keeps her hands up and constantly scans the whole warehouse as they move.

It honestly messes with Ben's sense of reality a little to realize that _Vanya_ is the one taking responsibility for protecting everyone in case they're attacked on the way out. Eudora's unarmed and Diego has his hands full of Klaus.

Eudora leads everyone to the front door, rather than the closer emergency exit that Klaus had come in through. This makes Ben very nervous, but he has no way of pointing out the shorter route.

Anyway, they make it out the front door without incident. All of the gangsters are gone, along with their truck.

Diego halts just outside of the warehouse. "Eudora, could you check on Klaus?" he asks. "He's gone all clammy. I can't tell if he's breathing."

Ben's worried about Klaus too, but he really wishes everybody would move farther away from the building. None of them said anything about noticing any of the charges on their way out, and Ben suspects that they aren't taking Klaus's warning _completely_ seriously.

Seriously enough to walk out of the building, for which Ben is grateful. But not seriously enough to _run_.

Eudora crouches down a little, taking a closer look at Klaus. Klaus's head is dangling upside down from his position slung over Diego's shoulders. Eudora pulls one of his eyelids up, presumably to check on his pupil. "He's breathing," she says after a moment. "But this sure looks like an overdose. I thought you said he'd stopped using?"

"He's been clean for a month," Diego says tightly.

"I have Narcan in my car," Eudora says. "I parked on the next block over. Can you carry him that far?"

"Yeah, no problem," Diego says, shifting his hold slightly. "I could carry his skinny ass a lot farther than that. Lead the way."

"Yes, go, move, _away_ from the building," Ben says, making a shooing motion like that's going to help. At least it makes him feel better.

They get about twenty steps before the building explodes.


	33. Chapter 33

Ben is unaffected by the explosion.

Vanya, Diego and Klaus, and Eudora are all thrown to the ground. The snow around them is pelted with debris.

Eudora gets up first, looking around wildly. "Is everyone okay?"

Vanya pulls herself up to her hands and knees, and bats at her ears. "Oh my God."

Diego has to shove Klaus off of himself before he can get up. "What the _hell_?"

Ben crouches next to Klaus, giving him a worried visual examination. He was unconscious _before_ the explosion, so it's hard to tell if he was seriously hurt by it. He's bleeding from a bunch of shallow-looking cuts. Without clothes on, he had no protection from the flying debris. At least the snow is deep enough to have cushioned his fall, which is a lucky break. The snow is still falling, landing on Klaus's hair and melting on his skin.

Eudora just points at what's left of the building.

It used to be a two-story warehouse. Now it's a half-story pile of wildly burning rubble. Some of the charges must have been incendiary.

Eudora touches the back of her neck, and the hand comes away bloody. She doesn't say anything about it, though. Ben makes a quick circuit, and convinces himself that her injury is superficial. And then he checks on Vanya and Diego—not that there's a thing he can do if anybody's badly hurt.

They were all facing away from the explosion, and this side of the warehouse didn't have any glass windows, which definitely helps. Ben can't see any serious injuries in the group, but he wonders how everyone's eardrums are doing. Vanya's still rubbing her ears uncomfortably.

Diego does a long, wide-eyed stare at the wreckage of the building, and then looks back at Klaus. "Klaus fucking saved our lives."

Eudora clutches the file folder to her chest. "We have to get him to my car."

* * *

Diego seems a little unsteady at first. He lifts Klaus into a cradle carry rather than slinging him over his shoulders. Eudora leads the way, plunging through the untouched snow. Vanya trails after, poking at her ears.

Just as they come up on Eudora's car, sirens start to wail in the distance.

"Are you gonna want to go back there?" Diego asks.

"Probably," Eudora says. "But let's take care of your brother first."

Diego lays Klaus down on the back seat, knees tucked up. With snow blanketing the front and back windshields of Eudora's car, the inside feels like a cave.

Eudora gets the first aid kit from the trunk, along with an emergency blanket. This isn't her personal car, Ben notices; it's an unmarked police car. The first aid kit has the police department's logo on it.

"What _is_ that?" Vanya asks, raising her eyebrows as Eudora sticks the applicator up Klaus's left nostril.

"Naloxone," Diego says. "It's an opioid antagonist."

Eudora delivers the second half of the dose to Klaus's other nostril, tucks the emergency blanket over him, and stands up. She shuts the passenger-side rear door which she'd been leaning through, and then gets into the driver's seat and turns on the engine. "Everybody get all the way in and close the doors. I'm going to get us some heat before your brother goes hypothermic on top of everything."

Vanya sits in the front. Diego squirms himself into the back seat, getting Klaus's head propped up on his lap.

"We need to get him to the hospital," Diego says.

"Faster to wait a minute and then drive back to the explosion site," Eudora says. "There should be at least one ambulance, and it's not like anybody else is going to need it." She flicks on the dome light, and opens up the file she scavenged from the warehouse. "Tell me if he doesn't wake up in three minutes. I've got another dose ready to go if he needs it."

"Klaus, wake up," Diego says, scrunching his hand through Klaus's snow-wet hair. "I'm not going to yell at you. We'll get you through this. Maybe you can do rehab again, try it for real this time. If you don't want to go alone, I'll go with you. Hold your fucking hand."

"Oh my God," Eudora says. "Half my fucking _squad_ is colluding with this cartel. No wonder I couldn't get backup."

"ooooooOOOOOoowwww _fuck_ me," Klaus moans.

"Klaus!" Diego exclaims with relief. And then, "What the _fuck_ , man? _Why_ would you do that to yourself?"

"Diego, you _just_ said you weren't going to yell at him!" Ben snaps.

"Heey Ben," Klaus groans. He pushes himself up so that he can swing his legs down into the foot well.

"Umm, not sure you're ready to be sitting up yet, bro," Diego says.

Klaus wilts against Diego's chest. "Ben and Dave need somewhere to sit."

"Klaus, I don't see Dave yet," Ben says. "Do you see him?

"No, but I'm coming down hard, so he should be here any second now. Ooooowwwww."

"Wanna tell us what the hell happened?" Diego asks. "I'm grateful for the save, man, but it might've gone a lot smoother if you hadn't decided to get high first. And where the _hell_ are your clothes?"

"Klaus, tell him you didn't get high on purpose."

"I got this Ben, I got this," Klaus says. "Diego, FYI, I think I only managed to save your life _because_ I'm a junkie. Ironic, huh?"

Diego pets Klaus's hair, and looks cranky. "That doesn't follow, buddy. But whatever. I'm glad you're safe."

"No, I'm serious," Klaus insists. "I _heroically_ plunged into the warehouse full of cold-blooded professional killers to warn you guys about the bomb. And then they blew up a kilo brick of product in my fucking _face_. If I didn't have the hardened opioid receptors of a ten-year addict, I probably never would've made it up the stairs."

Diego looks taken aback. "What, really?"

" _Really_." Klaus blinks up at him. "You can ask Ben and Dave. They were there."

Ben looks over, and sees that Dave has just joined him in the back seat. Or, probably more accurately: has just become visible, having been there all along.

"Klaus, can you see me?" Dave asks.

Klaus's wavering smile is answer enough.

Dave clears his throat. "Can I touch you?"

Klaus nods.

Ben shifts out of the way so that Dave can get to Klaus. And then Dave is gathering Klaus up in his arms, and kissing him like he thought he might never get another chance.

"Hey, not to be a killjoy, but Klaus you're gonna wanna be careful," Diego says. "Don't move around too much. When the Narcan wears off you might go back into overdose."

"Yeah yeah, I know, this isn't my first rodeo," Klaus murmurs against Dave's lips. "As long as I can see Dave, though, I know I'm okay."

Vanya twists around in the front seat. "How do you know so much about this, Diego?"

Diego sighs, and nods towards Klaus. "How do you _think_?"

Klaus looks confused at that. "Have you ever been with me when I OD'd before? I thought you always just came and picked me up from the hospital."

"No," Diego says. "But I read up, Klaus. Just in case."

"Oh, _that's_ why you wanted that training booklet," Eudora says, a little absently. She's still paging through the file.

"There's a naloxone kit at home in my emergency bag, under the knives," Diego adds.

"What?" Klaus squints at him. "Huh. I'd say I was appalled at your lack of faith in me, but—no, the lack of faith is entirely justified, and it's pretty sweet of you to think of that."

"Oh _fuck_ ," Eudora says, looking up abruptly. "Fucking _hell_. I am so screwed." She twists around in her seat, turning wide eyes on Vanya and Diego. "The chief of police is in collusion with this cartel. And so is the mayor. There is _nobody_ I can bring this info to."

"Oh Jesus," Diego says. "That stinks. I'm so sorry, Dora."

Eudora shakes her head. "You don't get it. This is not my disappointed-in-the-system face. This is my suddenly-terrified-I've-gotten-myself-killed face, Diego! Those guys in the warehouse took my ID, they know who I am. I'm a fucking loose end now! You know what these bastards do to loose ends?" She waves back in the direction of the pillar of black smoke rising from the warehouse's location.

"Fuck," Diego says, looking appalled.

"Yeah." Eudora flips the folder closed. " _Why_ can't I ever just leave things alone? They didn't want that case solved, the signals were _totally_ clear."

"You're a good person, Dora," Diego says. "No way you were going to leave something like that alone."

"So give me a fucking cookie," Eudora says. "And then help me figure some way out of this that isn't fleeing town tonight with what I've got in my pockets."

"You could stay with us," Vanya offers.

Eudora shakes her head. "Everybody knows I'm connected to Diego. Half the precinct thinks we're still sleeping together."

"I mean, we could protect you anyway," Vanya says. But then she frowns and admits, "Okay, granted, needing to fight off a bunch of drug cartel assassins in our pajamas some night wouldn't be _ideal_. Our landlord might not be very happy about it. And I couldn't exactly have Helen over."

" _Fucking_ hell, I can't believe I'm about to say this," Diego says. "But I think we need to bring this to Dad."

Vanya's mouth tightens, but she nods.

Ben looks immediately to Klaus. But Klaus isn't shrinking into himself, or freezing, or anything dramatic. He's snuggled pretty firmly in Dave's arms, and he looks okay.

"Klaus," Diego says, "you gonna be all right?

"Yeah, yeah," Klaus says, and it's only a little faint. "This is obviously the right move. What's the point in having a close personal connection to an eccentric billionaire playboy adventurer who dabbles in politics and loves fighting crime if you can't call on him at a time like this?"

"Reginald Hargreeves," Eudora blinks, "is your _father_. Holy shit. I hadn't really thought my way through to that part of it yet."

* * *

They begin a tense journey to the mansion. Diego patches up Klaus's cuts and scrapes as best he can in the crowded back seat, using supplies from Eudora's first aid kit. Klaus finally explains to his living siblings why he isn't wearing any clothes. Eudora's grip on the steering wheel is white-knuckled, and she takes them on three separate detours on the way to the freeway out of paranoia that they're being followed. Then they get trapped in a traffic jam on the freeway; thanks to Eudora's police radio they know it's due to a tractor trailer that jackknifed in the snow, but that doesn't ease any of Eudora's anxiety about their vulnerability, being stuck out in the open.

"We should've taken your car," she frets. "I signed this vehicle out at the station. They've got my plates."

"Seriously doubt they'll come at us in front of witnesses," Diego says. "And even if they do, we've got Vanya.

Vanya smiles.

They're _still_ stuck on the freeway when Klaus loses touch with Dave and starts to pass out again. Diego hits him with a second dose of naloxone. Klaus comes back with a wounded-animal moan, and Dave reappears.

"Klaus," Diego says, "I'm really sorry, buddy, but I think you're going to have to come into the house. Let Mom take care of you."

"What happened to bringing him to the hospital?" Vanya asks.

"Shit, Van, we're not leaving him alone with all this going on," Diego says.

"Speaking of which..." Eudora says, with an anxious glance at the rear view mirror, "Nobody panic." The car suddenly fills with pulsating blue-and-red light; she's just turned on her dashboard flashers. A moment later, she guns the engine and peels out into the breakdown lane.

"Huh?" Diego says. "Dora, I think we were more discreet just sitting in traffic."

"Not discreet enough," she says, waving her hand at the mirror.

Ben looks out the back, and sees another police car bearing down on them in the breakdown lane.

"They could just be heading to the accident," Diego says, also looking.

"Not likely," Eudora says. "There's two more on-ramps between us and it." She floors it.

"Oh, yikes," Vanya says, tensing her shoulders and sitting straight back in her seat.

"They're gaining on us," Dave reports, looking out the back window.

"Am I supposed to repeat that?" Klaus asks. "Um, Dave says they're getting closer."

"I can see that," Eudora says. "Hang on." They've just reached an off-ramp; she pulls them off the highway and into city traffic. "Let's see if they follow us."

They do.

"Okay, we're definitely in trouble," Eudora says. "Anybody got any superpowers that might help with this?"

"I could stop them," Vanya says, "but not without collateral damage."

"Klaus!" Ben says, hit with sudden inspiration. "Can you make me solid enough to fight, without making me visible to the living?"

"Umm, sure, I think so," Klaus says.

"Do it," Ben tells him. And then climbs through the back window, out onto the trunk of the car.

He doesn't have to worry about being shaken off by Eudora's wild driving. Momentum isn't any more of a real factor for him than gravity is. As long as he decides that he's resting securely on the hood of Eudora's trunk, it's true.

The police cruiser that's chasing them is only about three car-lengths back. Ben can see two uniformed officers inside. No way to tell if they're corrupt, or if they're just following orders to take down a rogue colleague. He'll be careful. Anyway, they're wearing seat belts and they must have airbags.

He thinks the monster into existence. Nine squirming tentacles push out of his belly, questing. He lengthens two of them until they make contact with the hood of the squad car. The driver doesn't react, so Ben's definitely invisible.

Gently, he nudges the other car so its path intersects with a streetlight pole. Its hood crumples and its airbags deploy.

Ben banishes the tentacles and climbs back into the back seat.

"Oh my God, they just crashed themselves into a lamp post!" Eudora hoots, eyes on her rear view mirror. "Never mind, guys, we're going to be fine!"

Klaus smiles at Ben.

* * *

Ten minutes later, they're pulling up in front of the familiar wrought-iron gates of the Umbrella Academy.

"Aaaaand here we go," Klaus mutters, pulling the blanket tight around his shoulders.

"Do we just, like, knock?" Eudora asks, looking intimidated.

"Try not to show fear!" Klaus advises, flinging open the car door and climbing out before Diego can manage to catch at his blanket and stop him. "He can _smell_ fear!" He pads barefoot through the snow, clutching the blanket closed in front of himself, and fumbles at the gate.

Everyone else scrambles to join him, and they all gather on the front step. Klaus has already rung the doorbell.

And then they wait.

Klaus shivers.

"Hey Eudora, what time is it?" Diego asks.

She looks at her wrist watch. "Eleven twenty-three."

Klaus lifts the blanket over his face and sneezes.

"Jesus Christ, Klaus, go wait in the car until somebody comes to the door," Diego says.

"You want me to walk all the way back over there?" Klaus whines.

"It's like fifty feet," Diego says. "C'mon. The car's still warm." He reaches for Klaus's blanket-clad arm, but Klaus jerks away.

"You think I'm going to find the courage to walk up to this door _twice_ in one decade?" Klaus asks. "That's asking way too much."

"You think they even heard the bell?" Diego asks. "Pogo's not as young as he used to be." He bangs on the door with his fist.

Klaus sneezes again, and Dave wraps him up in a worried-looking hug.

"Who's Pogo?" Eudora asks. And then the door opens.

Pogo peers up at them, wearing blue-and-white striped pajamas. He's got more white around his muzzle than the last time Ben saw him, and he's wearing brass-wired spectacles.

"Well. Miss Vanya? Masters Diego and Klaus? This certainly is a surprise."

"Ah," Eudora says. "Um. Ah. Hello."

"Hey Pogo," Diego says. "Can we come in? This is my friend Detective Eudora Patch, and she needs to talk to Dad, like, _now_."

Pogo gives them all a slightly dubious look, but then stands aside to let them in. "Sir Reginald has already retired for the night," Pogo says. "Some hours ago. But your old rooms are all still available, if you would like to spend the night and join him for breakfast."

"No, I'm serious, Pogo," Diego says. " _Now_. Some bad guys are gunning for her, and we think Dad's the only one who can do anything about it."

"Oh my." Pogo's liquid brown eyes take them all in again, reassessing. He pauses for a long moment on Klaus—who's currently muffling a sneezing fit into his blanket. "Perhaps, then, you should all wait in the front sitting room. I shall alert Sir Reginald."

* * *

Eudora doesn't try to hide her awe as they move from the front foyer to the sitting room. "You grew _up_ in all this?" she asks Diego.

"Yeah," he says, sounding less than pleased about it. He pulls one of his knives out, and starts spinning it as he walks.

"It hasn't changed a _bit_ ," Klaus croaks, twirling around as he walks and looking up towards the gallery. He's letting the blanket hang open now, like wings fluttering from his outstretched arms. "Can you believe it, he even kept the pictures with _me_ in them!"

"There aren't any pictures with me in them," Vanya mutters.

"Gonna do an in-your-face-Dad big power reveal?" Klaus asks, skipping a few steps so he can walk backwards in front of her. "Please, _please_ let me watch. We can have Pogo make popcorn."

"No, I don't think so," Vanya says. "I'd still rather avoid the subject with him if I can."

"How are you doing, Klaus?" Diego asks. "Naloxone still working? Dave still here?"

"Yeah," Klaus says. "He's doing pretty much the same agog face that Eudora is. You realize this is the first time that _any_ of us has brought our significant others home?"

Diego makes a slightly strangled noise. "Klaus, Eudora and I aren't dating."

"Yeah, you just keep sneaking off to her apartment for smooches and rescuing her from the mob and stuff, whatever, totally not a thing," Klaus says.

Diego stumbles. " _How_ did you know we kissed on Sunday? Did Dave follow me to her place? He said he wasn't going to do that anymore! Dave, man, that's not cool!"

"Hahaha, sucker!" Klaus sing-songs. "I didn't know at all! You just fucking told me!"

"Mmmm," Eudora facepalms. "Diego, your family is a _lot_."

"Miss the days when I refused to talk about them or let you anywhere near them?"

"Well, I'm still hoping your dad can pull me out of the hornet's nest I just kicked," she says wryly, "so maybe not."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Pogo reappears with Sir Reginald at his side.

Klaus and Diego immediately tense. Klaus is on the couch with Dave and Ben, while Vanya and Eudora are in the wingbacks and Diego's been pacing.

Vanya looks wary, but not as affected as Klaus or Diego.

As for Ben—since he died, he's kind of gotten over his father. What could Reginald possibly do to him now? Nothing, that's what.

"Children," Reginald says, lifting his chin. Like they're all still thirteen. "I assume there is an explanation for your intrusion at this uncivilized hour?"

"No, we were all just in the neighborhood and decided to pop in," Klaus says, in his hoarse, stuffed-up voice.

"Number Four." Reginald pinches his lips together. "You're in a sorry state. As usual."

Eudora clears her throat. "Excuse me? Sir?"

"Yes, young lady?"

"Detective Patch," Eudora corrects him firmly, standing up. "I have information about corruption at the highest levels of the police force and the municipal government. Your son told me I should bring it to you."

"Ah," Reginald says, eyeing Klaus. "In exchange for dropping the charges regarding some ... indiscretion, I assume?"

"God, your father really is terrible," Dave says. He's already got an arm around Klaus; he gives him a little comforting squeeze.

"What?" Eudora looks taken aback. "No. Diego brought me here because I didn't know where else to turn. I've discovered that the mayor and chief of police are colluding with a drug cartel."

The look Reginald gives her is newly sharp and interested. "Hints of such a connection have been circulating for years, but nothing has ever come of it. Do you have evidence?"

"Right here," she says, holding up the folder.

Reginald stalks over to her side and peers through his monocle. She takes him through several pages, pointing out the evidentiary highlights.

Finally, Reginald nods. "Well done, Number Two," he says, looking over at Diego. "Bringing this to me is the best service you have performed for the world since you left the Academy. Young lady—"

"Detective Patch" Eudora corrects him again—

"If you would accept my hospitality for the night and join me in the blue parlor at five a.m. sharp, we can take my private jet and join the governor for breakfast at six."

Eudora nods quickly. "Yes! I would like that. Thank you very much, sir." She shoots a wide-eyed look at Diego.

Reginald also turns back to Diego. "Of course you're welcome to come along, Number Two. You have done much to redeem your long delinquency, bringing this matter to me. But tell me ... _why_ have you brought Number Four and Number Seven along with you?"

"Ooooh, that's a good question," Klaus moans. "Why am I here? Somebody remind me?"

"To see Mom," Diego says, which is nicely discreet of him, considering.

"Your mother is charging," Reginald says (earning a startled look from Eudora). "She should be activated early only in the case of an emergency."

"Yeah, it kinda is an emergency," Diego says, eyeing Klaus.

Klaus shakes his head quickly. "Nope. I'm fine. How long's it been, twenty minutes since the second dose? I'm definitely fine! I think it's time for me to get going, actually. If things are all sorted out and Eudora's not going to be murdered by the cartel—yay!—maybe Van and I should just take a cab home. Ack! I mean to our separate homes because we totally don't live together _shit_." He curls his knees up, making himself into a tight blanket-wrapped ball, and leans his forehead against Dave's cheek. "Shit shit shit."

Dave hugs him, keeping a wary eye on Reginald. "We're leaving soon, don't worry." He kisses Klaus's temple.

And Reginald's eyes widen. He circles the couch slowly, looking at ... Dave.

Dave became visible when he kissed Klaus. Oops.

"Number Four," Reginald says softly. "You have ... progressed." He peers at Dave. "White male, mid-twenties, no visible injuries, dressed in a contemporary style. Do we know him?"

Dave bristles; he straightens his back and glares at Reginald.

"He's gone," Reginald says. "Number Four, can you manifest him again? Do you have conscious control over the apparitions?"

Klaus buries his head under the blanket.

"Number Four!" Reginald snaps crisply. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Klaus lets out a high-pitched whimper.

Oh, Klaus is on the edge of _losing_ it.

Dave catches Ben's eye and mouths 'help?' He's putting himself between Klaus and Reginald, but considering that he's invisible to Reginald right now, that's of limited effectiveness.

Ben looks at Diego and Vanya. They both seem frozen, watching Klaus with appalled expressions.

Ben's a little annoyed. Diego and Vanya had promised to _protect_ Klaus from Dad. And now they're _useless_.

Okay, to be fair, when they had their talk about protecting Klaus, they did all sort of make it sound like Reginald would be barging in like a cartoon supervillain, coming after Klaus with a rope net and a harpoon gun. Instead, they're the ones who came to _him_ , asking for his help. And Reginald is just ... _talking_ to Klaus, to all of them, in the same supercilious way he always has.

Ben's going to have to protect Klaus himself.

That's a thing he can do now.

"Klaus, Klaus!" he says urgently. "Manifest me! Like in the fight!"

And suddenly Reginald takes a step back. "Number Six?" He stares directly at Ben.

Oh wow, Ben had _not_ been ready for the complicated flood of emotions that brought on. _Fuck you, Dad, for getting me killed._ He clenches his fists, and glares at his father.

"Number Four," Reginald says crisply, "get your head out from under that ridiculous yellow blanket and answer my questions. Is this manifestation of your brother capable of independent thought? Why does he appear to have aged? Does he take initiative, or does he require you to direct him?"

Klaus lets out a peal of slightly hysterical laughter from under the blanket. "You think I can _direct_ him?"

"Dad," Ben says, "Fuck off."

"Oh hey!" Diego says. "Ben said: Dad fuck off. That was an easy one."

"Stay away from Klaus," Ben says.

"He said: Stay away from Klaus," Diego reports. "This is great. I can do this. Keep enunciating those words, Ben."

"What is the meaning of this, Number Four?" Reginald asks, looking extremely irritated. "We see before us the belated flowering of a power that transcends death itself. And still, disappointingly, you choose to play petty games—" and he takes a step forward.

Not gonna lie. Ben is _thrilled_. His fake ghost tentacle monster bursts out of his chest and maybe he goes a little overboard with it, because something like eighteen tentacles reach Reginald simultaneously, wiggling.

Reginald's face goes white. He clearly remembers what those tentacles did when Ben was alive.

Ben nudges him back gently, with just one tentacle. "I said stay away from Klaus."

"Holy _shit_ ," Diego's saying. "Ben! Did you know you could _do_ that?"

Reginald looks down at the ghost-tentacle in contact with his chest. Looks up at Ben. "Number Six?"

" _Yes_ , Dad." Ben glares at him, and gives Reginald's shoulder a little tentacle-flick for good measure.

"Astonishing." Reginald adjusts his monocle.

"Ben! Ben!" Klaus calls from the couch. He's emerged from the blanket. "Steal his monocle!"

Okay, that's _super_ petty. But it'll make Klaus feel better, and that's what Ben is here for right now. He delicately reaches up with one tentacle. Reginald flinches away but wisely doesn't resist as the tentacle brushes his cheek and wraps its end around the monocle chain. It lifts it away, dangling.

"Klaus, do you want it?" Ben offers.

"What? Fuck no. I just wanted to see you do that."

"Okay," Ben says. He swings the tentacle over and drops the monocle into Pogo's hand. Pogo gazes at it in consternation.

So. Ben feels like he's made his point. "Klaus received your invitation, and his answer is 'no,'" he says to Reginald. "He's not going to be your guinea pig ever again."

"Umm, sorry Ben, could you say that again slower?" Diego says.

"Oh good Lord, Number Two, I am perfectly capable of lip-reading for myself," Reginald says. "And ... Number Six. I see Number Four's dramatics are rubbing off on you. Perhaps this is an inevitable side-effect of your dependence on his power. Number Four has barely begun to scratch the surface of his ability. If he had been willing from the beginning to dive into it instead of _fleeing_ it—" Reginald stops, as a tentacle brushes his lips and shushes him.

"Diego, ask Pogo to call us a cab," Ben says.

* * *

Diego opts to stay at the mansion with Eudora. Fair enough. Ben doesn't think that Eudora is in any _danger_ from Reginald, strictly speaking—not like he's going to lock her in a mausoleum with a bunch of ghosts, or restrict her to half an hour of play time once a week on Sundays—but Ben's sure she'll still be grateful for the backup.

Klaus convinces Vanya that they should go straight home, rather than to the hospital. Ben doesn't speak against this plan; Klaus is probably not going to slip back into the overdose at this point, and he'll rest a lot better at home than in a ghost-filled hospital. Anyway, worst-case scenario, there's the naloxone kit in Diego's emergency bag at home, and now Vanya knows how to use it.

Ben sits in the front passenger seat of the cab in order to leave enough room for Klaus, Dave and Vanya to comfortably share the back. The cab driver isn't chatty; he doesn't comment on the fact that Klaus is wearing nothing but a blanket. To avoid accidentally manifesting Dave, Klaus has to forgo boyfriend-snuggles. He keeps his hands primly to himself, clutching the blanket, and giggles almost the whole way home, occasionally gasping out short phrases like 'the look on his face!' and 'when you took his monocle!'.

Ben's glad that Klaus is laughing.

Thinking back over his brief interaction with Reginald, Ben can think of a thousand more things he wishes he'd said. He imagines dangling Reginald upside down from three tentacles and yelling at him about what a terrible father he was. Calling him out for locking Klaus in the mausoleum. Explaining in detail all of the awful things Ben has witnessed in Klaus's life over the past nine years, and throwing in Reginald's face the fact that it's _all his fault_.

Nice thought, but it's never gonna happen.

Anyway, it's not like Reginald would break down crying and apologize for all the terrible things he's done. He would probably just take notes on Ben's control over the tentacles, and try to calculate their grip strength.

* * *

At home, Klaus takes a shower right away. Dave goes with him, so Ben doesn't worry about the fact that the shower lasts for forty minutes. Vanya rolls her eyes at Klaus when he finally emerges and she gets to take her turn, but she accompanies it with a smirk. "Good thing the building has central water-heating," she murmurs.

Klaus dresses himself in pink tights and one of Diego's sweatshirts. "That was a day, huh?" he says, flopping down on the bedroom couch. "Dave touched stuff, Diego talked to Dave, Ben talked to Dad, Ben got _tentacles_ —wow."

"You saved Vanya and Diego from getting blown up by organized crime," Ben adds, because Klaus definitely deserves credit for that. And, "You overdosed." Because Ben's still pretty freaked out about that, actually.

"Mmm, yeah, that sucked," Klaus says. And then he looks at Ben. "Oh, are you worried about me breaking my sobriety? Nah, don't worry Benny, it wasn't even on purpose. And it's not like it was _fun_. Trying to hold myself together and get up the stairs and remember to tell Diego and Vanya about the bombs. And then the fucking naloxone chaser. All in all, a thoroughly shitty experience. One star. Would not do again. Prime 'drugs are bad' inspirational poster material, right there." He accepts Dave's hug, snuggling against his chest.

"And Dad knows where you are now," Ben says—as long as they're running down his list of worries anyway. "Are you okay?"

Klaus gives a shuddery shrug, and tugs Dave's arms tighter around himself. "I ... think so? Seeing him was awful, but also not as bad as I thought it would be. I think he got ... bigger. In my head. When we didn't see him for nine years. Kind of boogeyman style. But he's really just a dried-up old bastard with no shred of humanity and a weirdly tacky 19th-century aesthetic, isn't he? Anyway, now I've got the image of you shushing him with one delicate tentacle burned into my brain, and I think I can pretty much fly happy for the rest of my life based on that one."

"Any time you need me to," Ben promises, "I'll do it again."

"You're the best, Benny," Klaus says, giving Ben a really sweet smile. And then his face scrunches up. He leans forward and sneezes three times against his tucked-up knees. "Fucking _hell_ I am so sick," he moans.

"You sure are," Ben agrees, looking around the room. The tissue box is on the floor, halfway across the room. "Hey, wanna try a thing?"

"What?" Klaus asks, sniffling.

Ben tucks his arm through the crook of Klaus's knees. "Feed me a little power. Typewriter-level."

Klaus looks a little puzzled—understandably, since the typewriter is nowhere near them—but says "Okay."

Ben concentrates for a moment, and then extends one single tentacle from his belly. Delicately, it wiggles across the floor and wraps itself around the tissue box. He tugs it back in toward himself. The tentacle shrinks until it's no longer than Ben's arms. It holds the box in front of Klaus, waits for Klaus to pull a couple of tissues out, and then sets the box down in front of Ben's feet.

Klaus laughs. He blows his nose, and giggles, and coughs, and laughs some more.

"Well, I feel a little outclassed now," Dave says mildly.

"No, sweetie, no," Klaus says, craning his neck around so he can kiss Dave. "There remain many, _many_ special things that you can do for me that Ben never, ever could." His lips curl up into a slightly wicked grin. "Though, it's a little _sad_ that you don't have tentacles..."

"Oh, Klaus _ew_!" Ben glares at him. "You _had_ to go there?"

Klaus just shakes with cackling laughter.

**Author's Note:**

> FYI, if you happen to be somebody who enjoys leaving comments, I would like you to know that I am somebody who enjoys getting comments! (And if you're somebody who enjoys reading quietly and prefers to leave no trace, that's cool too! I hope you enjoy my story.)


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